Oh God, What Even, and other fantastic tales
by ARandomTimeTraveller
Summary: Alison is university student and whovian who is tired of boring, everyday studies. When the opportunity arises, she opts for change in the form of being a counsellor for a local summer camp. When the Doctor and the Ponds show up, she knows the whole thing is bound for trouble. but the question is, get involved and put herself in danger, or stay on the sidelines like she always has?
1. Introish Thing

**Oh wow! ARTT is finally back with a story! where did the others go? well, I decided they were shit and buried in the deepest depths of my laptop til the end of their days.**

**so yeah, this one is almost guaranteed to be shitty. good luck swallowing my brain's fecal matter in the form of a story.**

The park was really dark. Going out for a walk that night was probably a bad plan. I kept smacking into trees and benches in the darkness, one time managing to trip over nothing at all. But now as I sat in my favourite tree overlooking the water in the dark, I decided at least the view was worth it. The trees hid me from most of the light pollution drifting out from the distant downtown city core, and so the stars shone bright and clear. I shivered; though summer was on its way it certainly wasn't here yet, and the nights were colder than the days.

Sighing, I slipped out of the tree and grabbed my coat. It was black, and made of wool, lined with a satiny type fabric. I pulled it on, shivering from the cold. If I had worn it in the tree, it would have gotten full of bark. I had deemed it an acceptable sacrifice at the time, but now I was regretting everything.

I began to walk in the direction of my little apartment, which was up a hill, down a street, down another one, and one final one onto university campus. As I walked, I began to sing under my breath. Though it was the capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax was extremely quiet at night time. Or most of the time, to be real. Frosh week, the first week of new students to the universities around town, was normally pretty wild if you were near the celebrations, and was dreaded by medical students like my 'flatmate'.

Charlie was a British guy who had offered to share the apartment with me, remarking at how cheap it was compared to the ones in London. He had moved to Canada because doctors were paid more than in England. He insisted that we were flatmates, but I was having none of it. We were _roommates_. I huffed in frustration over my quiet song. He meant well, but it honestly ground my gears either way.

As I neared the apartment, I could hear the distant thumping of bass. Our upstairs neighbors were having a party... again.

I hurried my footsteps, running along through the thick beams of light shone out of the windows and cut through the shadows on the sidewalk despite the streetlamps; for some reason they were always super dim.

I walked past the door to my first storey apartment and walked up the wooden steps to the second's door. I bit my lip, furrowing my brows. I raised a fist to pound on the door, but reconsidered. What if they refused to turn it down? What if they laughed at me? Should I just call the police? I debated for a good minute before turning and leaving. I'd just listen to something in my earbuds until I fell asleep instead.

I checked my pocket for my key as I reached my grey door, which didn't look great with the yellow colour of the building's exterior. I pulled out a pen, two quarters, a rock, but no key. I sighed, kneeling down to look under the mat. There was the spare key, and I snatched it up and unlocked the door, slipping it back under the mat before going inside.

The smell hit me first. Overwhelmingly fishy, and seeing as Nova Scotia was mainly based on fish-oriented industries, that was saying something. I gagged, and stumbled in. Charlie was sitting at the table with a pile of cooked fish fillets, and a mixing bowl full of french fries- which he insisted were called chips.

"Charlie, why the hell did you make..." I counted the fish fillets. "_thirty_ fish fillets?"

"They were going bad." He mumbled, head in his arms. He was obviously exhausted, and textbooks and notes were scattered across the living room floor. I sighed. The man was overtired from med school- he was often up on 36 hour stints trying to get too many things done.

"Go to bed Char. I'll wrap these up and you can take them for lunch tomorrow." Sometimes I felt like him mother, much to my annoyance. Why I decided he would be a good roommate was beyond me now. I frowned as the curly haired man stumbled off to bed, tossed the fish into the bowl with the fries, and stretched plastic wrap over it before shoving it into the nearly empty fridge. It was time to go shopping again.

Sighing, I shuffled into my room. It was pretty plain, painted an ugly shade of dark lime green, and carpeted with dark grey. It was definitely not the ideal bedroom, but it was what I was paying for. I collapsed on my soft bed, a queen size that took up most of the space in the room. The window on my wall was huge, and I could see a few stars, and the moon. I sighed, peeling off my jacket and hanging it my tiny closet. That and my three cosplays were the only things that fit, that's how small it was. Though admittedly, the cosplays were multiple articles of clothing.

The only other things in my room were my desk and a bunch of boxes that held my books. On top of my desk was my silver apple laptop, a stack of papers, and a taller stack of books on different fields of science, though most of them were physics. I had a bachelor's degree in science, physics being my thing, and engineering. Now I was working on my masters degree, but it was exhausting and I found myself wishing that I had just stuck with two bachelors.

"If you like Piña Coladas, getting caught in the rain. If you're not into yoga, if you have half a brain." I groaned at the song coming from upstairs. "If you like making love at midnight, in the duunes of the cape, I'm the love that you've looked for. Write to me and escape."

that's when I got the idea. Trying to drone out the sound of a horribly remixed version of 'Escape (The Piña Colada Song)' and the apartment stinking of fish and chips. This upcoming summer, I would be a counsellor for the university's science camp.


	2. Bluh Bluh This Is Stupid (Ch1)

**_Wooow! a second chapter?! I've been sitting on this one for a while so that's rad. we'll see how long it lasts though. probably not long. anyway, ARTT out!_**

_Recap: that's when I got the idea. Trying to drone out the sound of a horribly remixed version of 'Escape (The Piña Colada Song)' and the apartment stinking of fish and chips. This upcoming summer, I would be a counsellor for the university's science camp._

It was a pretty great idea, I thought to myself as I walked into the library to grab a tea. Just outside was where the kids would be dropped off for their first day of camp, and I, being the luckiest woman in the universe, got to be on early watch for an extra tenner each week.

I moved over to the second cup and ordered my tea, humming to myself as the woman behind the counter poured the steaming liquid. I took it from her and got my change, shoving it into the pocket of my coat, under which was the black polo shirt of the camp counsellors. I strolled out into the still-chilly air, it was just going on seven o'clock now. I sighed, and sat down on the edge of a concrete bush-plant-tree holder thingy, the sign-in sheet sitting on my lap. Slowly the first children began to arrive, and I put on my friendly face, helping kids make name tags and such. Other counsellors began to arrive, only one of which I knew- Matt, a guy from my physics class. We shared a nod and then went to talk to the kids in our respective groups.

"Alright, lets take counsellor roll call." the director called through our walkie talkies as we sat and observed the campers' soccer game. "Matt?"

"Here."

"Jeff." he was in engineering, a year ahead of me. Made quite a few explosions on his way to becoming a chemical engineer, and the stain marks were still on the white board in my classroom.

"Here."

"Annalise?"

"Here." Her I didn't know, but she looked like she was probably in art of some form.

"Rory." there was a silence. "Okay, let me know if he doesn't show up by the end of the pick-up period, we'll send a sub. What about Alison?"

"I'm here." I said on instinct.

"Alright... Amelia slash Amy." again, a silence, and I heard the director curse under his breath. "Okay, that's both counsellors for the Quarks group, there's six of them so we might be able to get just the one sub... uh, John? John Smith, who's parents are really unoriginal."

no one spoke up, and I heard a sound quite similar to a skull pounding on a table. "Okay, looks like Alison might be on her own, lucky we've only got six in the innovators group so you can still watch them and we won't need a sub if John doesn't show..."

I sighed, looking over at the six campers, who were dully sitting at some of the picnic benches. This would be _so_ fun.

"Alright! Innovators, in the superNOVA science camp! Whee, fun!" I said in a slightly sarcastic tone as the six teens and I walked into the psychology building where we would be spending the majority of our time. We all sighed, and continued on.

"Just my luck I got in the group with the generic no-show." one kid with curly hair muttered, and we all laughed dryly.

"Literally." a girl with long blond hair in a braid ground out. "but at least we're not stuck with the little kids like the Quarks, that must be hell."

"Yeah, that's gotta suck ass." I muttered, and the group stopped, staring at me. "What?"

"You're not gonna reprimand her for swearing and generally have a stick up your butt?" a boy with shaggy brown hair asked, blue eyes wide and hopeful.

"Nah." I shook my head. "Speaking of, let's all just agree to take the elevator and never speak of it, it's five flights of stairs all the way up.

The group groaned and nodded, and so the seven of us piled into the elevator. Luckily it was big enough for ten if it was ever needed, which had actually happened once on the one occasion they hosted a movie night and people brought booze. Movie nights were banned after that. I chattered on about that night and my British roommate getting hammered as we went up, and the group laughed. I had a feeling I'd do well with this group.

The elevator dinged, and I stepped out just to bump into a very rushed looking blond man, who bolted down the stairs in a blur. I stared after him, startled, before continuing on to our room, which was named by a plaque on the wall beside it as 'Psy 11'. I pulled the key for the room off my lanyard, which was emblazoned with the camp logo. I unlocked the room, and pushed it open so my six younger companions could enter. The walls to my right and directly in front of me were set up with blackboards, a pull-down screen for the LCD projector hung from the ceiling, which I snapped up. There were four square tables and one rectangular one, and the square ones were covered by brown paper, presumably these were the camper tables, protected from any impulses to draw on them. All the chairs were those rolly, spinny, office chairs, to everyone's delight. One girl, with a mane of curly black hair, proclaimed loudly,

"We should have office chair races!"

I bit my lip, trying not to look mischievous. "I don't think we're allowed..." I managed to spit out. "But I'd totally beat you all."

the group grinned. Everyone took their seats, and I hooked up my laptop to the projector, standing at the front of the room. "Okie dokie, so this is science camp. If you didn't already know that you're in the wrong place. So today we have..." I looked at my document, which was up on the screen. It was a picture of a whale. "_not_ a whale. That's the wrong thing." I reopened the file I wanted. "Okay. That's better. Um, we've got a unit on thermodynamics and the maintenance of heat by antarctic water fowl and mammals."

There were a few blank stares. "So how penguins stay warm?" one girl said uncertainly.

I nodded. "Yup. I wondered if any of you would get that." I clicked a button, and a picture of a very cool looking penguin came up. "So basically you're all gonna watch a video on penguins, and then we're gonna build insulated bottles with syrup, lard, cotton balls, marshmallows, and some soda bottles."

As I spoke I walked around the room and grabbed the materials. "But before we begin, I'm going to give you the rules. Short, short version. No violence, respect, and don't make obnoxiously loud noises. My name is Alison, give your names, say something about yourself, quick, quick."

the blond girl raises her hand. "I'm Mandy, I like How to Train your Dragon."she says, braid swinging.

Next is a rather short Asian girl with hair in double ponytails. "I'm Sheyna. I once ate frog legs."

and a brown skinned girl with very large curly hair. "I'm Shadelle. I have three cats and a pig."

I raise an eyebrow. "In your house?"

She nods. "Yup. His name is Irman."

A boy with curly reddish brown hair stands up. "I am Michael! I am a pro at Halo!"

another boy stands up, he has blond hair. He puts his hands on his hips. "I'm Charlie, and I know Michael isn't a pro at Halo, because I always beat him."

I roll my eyes. "I'd beat you both. Sit down, sons."

the final boy speaks. "I'm Felix. I DJ." he adjusts the trilby atop his head, and I hide a frown. There's always a bad apple, isn't there? I could tell he would be that one 'nice guy' who's not really nice.

Alright. That was that. We began watching the video about penguins. As the teens watched half-heartedly, I doodled on one of the table's paper, drawing circles interlocking with each other in delicate rings and lines.

That was a fancy way of saying I was writing circular gallifreyan. Yeah, I was kind of a nerd, and I had a soft spot for things with temporal shenanigans, so Doctor Who was right up my alley. That being said, some things bugged me about the new series, so I had pretty much stopped watching after Amy and Rory Pond were off the show. That's when I lost interest. Shadelle looks over my shoulder. "What's that? She asks.

"Doctor Who language. I dunno, it looks cool, but it just says 'Penguins are birds'."

She giggles, and goes back to watching the video. I start reviewing the outline for the project as the video ends. "Okay, so you have to build your boat in 15 minutes, float it in ice water, which I'm still not sure where we'll get, and then see how much the temperature goes down within five minutes."

the kids get to work, stuffing bottles with cotton balls, soaked in syrup, wrapped in duct tape, and wiping lard all over everything. I sat back and watched the kids work, leafing through the projects for the day.

Once they were all done, we set the boats in the water, and I put on 'Eye of the Tiger' for some atmospheric music. It _was_ a competition, after all. So as the "boats" hit the water, dramatic music played from the speakers, and everyone held their breath as they watched their boats. Felix's sank right away, though he claimed it was meant to do so. Just as we were taking the thermometers out to check them was when we heard a crash from the steps.

After looking out and seeing no panic, we continued on, listing the scores; Sheyna and Shadelle's boats were both even at the top, and Felix's was (as predicted) the worst. We then moved on to talking about the stars, and I discussed astrophysics, my preferred field, and why I liked it so much.

That was when we got to lunch time. We all went outside to eat, the whole group. I bought subway from the library, and the campers brought their own lunches, so we didn't have to wait in line, thank the stars. We all sat under a tree in the middle of the courtyard, and ate our lunches as we watched the younger kids, I think they were called monomers, play soccer. The quarks, the middleish group, sat around with their... eccentric substitutes, who were chattering like birds. I pitied them.

So the day carried on, the side blackboards slowly filled with doodles, drawings, and equations. The kids were happy and grinning as they went home, and as far as I was concerned, my job was done well. The only downside was the fact that my partner was a no-show, and I couldn't leave to use the toilet. So of course I took off immediately, to take a leak in the library bathroom before returning to sign out.

Then I headed home to rest and eat. I turned on Netflix and "hum'ed and haw'ed" over what to read. I got the idea for Doctor Who, but couldn't find it. Perhaps there was a legal issue that they couldn't play it anymore?

I sighed. Either way the show was gone, so I had to settle on something else. I ended up watching Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, because at least that way there were shenanigans. Those were my favourite.


	3. Oranges are Dangerous (Ch2)

_ Recap: I headed home to rest and eat. I turned on Netflix and "hum'ed and haw'ed" over what to read. I got the idea for Doctor Who, but couldn't find it. Perhaps there was a legal issue that they couldn't play it anymore? _

_I sighed. Either way the show was gone, so I had to settle on something else. I ended up watching Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, because at least that way there were shenanigans. Those were my favourite. _

The next morning I rode up on my skateboard, balancing a cup of tea on top of my physics book. My headset was snugly over my ears as I listened to some classic rock music. As I rolled towards the planter-thingy, I jumped up on top of it, sitting down and flipping open my thick textbook. I flipped one leg over the other and took a gulp of steaming hot liquid contentedly.

I grinned to myself as I wiggled into place, rolling my skateboard back and forth with my toes. Campers started pulling up in their parents' cars, and one by one the sign-in spots filled up. Other counsellors slowly trickled in, but the real surprise was when two new faces showed up. And I recognized them- a redheaded woman and a blond man, both in the standard black counsellor shirt and shorts.

Amy and Rory Williams, who were apparently the Quarks counsellors, were currently a few feet away, getting chewed out by Matt, who had been the one to find them subs. However, I shook the familiarity off. It was probably a freak coincidence. So I sat in the same spot, nose buried in my textbook, until it was time to go. Then my little group, (John was _still_ missing) and I headed off.

Full of chatter between us, we headed over to the psychology building. As we walked through the hall, I smacked into a rather pudgy woman, who let a huge one rip, to the giggles of the kids. Needless to say, she was unimpressed with their reaction to flatulence, and we hurried on before she began to yell at me.

Then we commenced our daily routine. The first thing on the schedule? Messing around with liquid nitrogen. What else to start off a good day of science? So we got off on dipping seemingly random objects in liquid nitrogen, including my hand, for a split second. However, as we began smashing frozen oranges on every surface imaginable, the door swung open just as an orange went flying towards it.

I saw a flail of limbs and heard a hollow thud as a person hit the floor. I clapped a hand over my mouth, eyes wide. "Oh my god!" I yelled, and ran to help the person up. "I'm so sorry!" I grabbed an arm and hauled him up.

"Typical Canadians, always apologizing." I heard a british voice say.

I stepped back to see a man in the counsellor shirt and slacks, with a tweed jacket overtop, and a bowtie. My eyes widened. It was the Doctor. The eleventh doctor. Was standing in front of me. And I just knocked him over with a frozen orange. I was frozen in shock.

"Well, I'm guessing this is the SuperNOVA Innovators group? Sorry I'm a little late. I'm John, John Smith. The second counsellor."

"Oh, so _now_ you show up. About time we had a _man_ in charge." Felix says, rolling his eyes. Sheyna, Shadelle, and Mandy all cast him dirty looks.

The Doctor guy, John, ignores him and runs over to the blackboard. "Ooh, nice physics stuff. Very simple, of course, but still really cool anyways, ooh! And a dragon! I like dragons, dragons are pretty neat, too!" he turns to us. "this is gonna be great."

I snap out of my shocked stupor. "I hit you in the face with a frozen orange and you're talking about how great this is? I think you have a skewed sense of 'great'."

he laughs happily. "oh no, a science camp! Science is great, I love science."

"That's why we're here." Michael says, nodding slowly. "Because science is cool."

"ah, yes. Of course." I begin to come to terms with the situation. This _has_ to be a prank. No other solution. But I'm still getting paid for this job, and I'm going to get my money.

"So, now that we've got our second counsellor, let's continue on. Who wants to freeze more stuff?"

after having shattered enough things, we finally moved on to the next section, and even though I loved astrophysics, I let 'John' tell them about it, seeing as he was supposedly the expert. Eventually I took over for him though, because he was absolute shit at it.

"So basically what he was saying was that all that happens because of the perfect alignment of gravitational fields and such. Now, I think it's time for lunch now, so let's all go outside!"

a sigh of relief sweeps through the room, and everyone grabs their bags. "What, you eat lunch outside? Why?" the Doctor / John asks.

"Because those are camp rules and it's nice outside anyway, so let's just go. No arguments, mister bowtie."

he looks at me indignantly. "Bowties are cool."

"Yeah, yeah whatever let's go!" Shadelle cries, yanking open the door and stepping out. I manage to snatch up my messenger bag before someone grabs my wrist and yanks me out of the room. We all pile into the elevator, but the problem was there a janitor already in with his cart. So we all crammedf in, muttering apologies all around.

"Wow, that whole thing about apologies really isn't a stereotype." I hear 'John' say from behind me. He's crammed into the corner, but still grinning widely.

"Are you new or something?" Brady asks.

"Yes. Yes I am, and I'm here to review the university programs." Interesting excuse. My question was, why was he _really_ here, and should I even bother trying to find out anyway?

The elevator dinged, and we all piled out, leaving with a final apology to the janitor before strolling down the hallway. I could hear people in the lunch bistro complaining loudly about the heat; apparently it was about thirty degrees Celsius. That was a good opportunity to test the kids.

"What's thirty degrees in Fahrenheit?" I ask, and Mandy is the first to answer.

"One degree Celcius is Thirty-Fourish Fahrenheit, so multiply it by thirty..."

I shake my head. "nah. It's a bit more complicated than that. I'll teach you that after lunch. It's eighty-six Fahrenheit. And in Kelvin it's..."

"303.15" 'John' interrupts. "Now come on, let's go do this lunch-eating outside!" he hurries up ahead, flailing his arms a bit.

I sigh. "You heard the derp. Let's go, guys." we all ran to catch up with him as he tripped over a bench and I groaned. What an idiot.

He shot up. "I'm alright! It's okay!"

"I'm sure you have a very thick skull, mate." I call, running up to the steps of the administration. "Now you gotta be silent in here, cause they're doing some professional something-or-other. Let's do the typical camp thing and act like ninjas." and with that, I ran across the hall, did a roll, and was out the other side. The others simply scurried across, but Shadelle hid behind a few pillars for extra effect.

And so we continued on, and joined up with the other groups. The Doctor slash John Smith immediately went to meet up with Amy and Rory, while we sat down on a short concrete wall. Dalhousie University had too many of those for its own good, I thought to myself as I opened my bag and pulled out a large quantity of fish and chips, already thoroughly soaked in vinegar, and as soon as I opened it, that fact was painfully obvious to everyone around.

"What's that _smell_?" one of the Quarks asked, holding his nose.

"Never heard of vinegar?" I asked. "Sheesh boy, best thing to eat on fries."

"It stinks, though." he retorts.

"You know what else stinks? y-" I cut myself off, and rethink my answer. "Evil Aliens." is my first answer, and I'm painfully aware of that being a bad answer too. Three pairs of eyes bore into my skull, and I sit neutrally, now trying to play it off. "Either way, d'you wanna try one? My roommate made way too many."

he accepts the fry, eats it, and makes a face. "It tastes like lemon but not."

I laugh. "Yeah, but I like it." he moves away, sits back down with his friends, and I pull out a handful of fries and shove them in my mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

"D'you think aliens _are_ real?" Sheyna asked.

"Well, why not? I mean, we've never seen further than mars." Charlie pointed out.

"And even that's just the surface of the planet. And not even all of it!" Shadelle adds.

"I bet there are aliens on the moon." Felix mutters. "They're on the moon and we just never landed there."

I shook my head. "Sorry to burst your conspiracy theory bubble, but no. The moon landing was definitely real."

Felix snorted, muttering under his breath. Michael rolled his eyes. "Come on, man. Do you really believe that?"

"Yes." the hat-wearing boy said firmly.

Shadelle giggles. "Do you also think that the dinosaur bones were planted here by aliens?"

"Ooh! Or that the government uses mind control?" Brady adds.

I frown. "Okay, guys. That's enough." Even if he was a sexist, conspiracy freak, it was my job to be fair, no matter how much I hated it.

Felix sighed, and took a bite of his mayonnaise-soggied sandwich, and I grimaced. Gross.

I had a thing about sauces. They were disgusting to me, which caused a lot of problems at resturaunts. On top of that, I had always hated applesauce and...

the smell of it wafted into my nostrils. Yogurt. I grimaced, edging away from Sheyna, who had just opened a container of the foul stuff. The only real way I had ever felt a connection to the eleventh doctor was his opinion on food. Yogurt was bad, so were apples, bread and butter, baked beans, and, to the great indignation of the general population, bacon.

On the topic of food I hated, Brady turned to Sheyna. "How can you eat that stuff? Gross."

She frowned. "It's good. Especially peach."

I shook my head. "Yogurt is foul. So bad."

"I know right?!" Brady and Michael chorus.

"Okay, lunch is over!" I hear Jeff shout from the monomers group. I jump off the concrete wall happily.

"Lets go dissect some pig hearts, hey?" I say, grinning.

"Gross!"

**AN: okay, so basically I'm now spitting out trash. here you go, and there's more to come. I'm so sorry.**


	4. Yum Yum Potassium (Ch3)

**AN: happy new year guys! sorry this is a quickie, I've got company and didn't have time to write much. also, thanks for the review I got; which was comprised of 'yum yum potassium'. that's why this chapter is called that, though really it has nothing to do with the chapter at all.**** See you tomorrow!****-ARTT  
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_Recap:"Okay, lunch is over!" I hear Jeff shout from the monomers group. I jump off the concrete wall happily. _

_"Lets go dissect some pig hearts, hey?" I say, grinning. _

_"Gross!"_

"Okay, so be careful with those scalpels, guys! A cut from those will be hard to close and will bleed a bunch." I say, pushing a tray towards each of them, a pig's heart on each one.

"Is there gonna be blood in them?" Felix asks.

"What? no. No no. The blood would have drained or dried up by now." John said, looking at the notes on the blackboard.

"Good." Sheyna mutters. "I hate blood."

"hah, squeamish, are you? That's okay, everyone's afraid of something." he turns, flourishing his arms.

"Yeah." I nod. "I'm afraid of needles. Never got over it." I stop for a second, trying to shake the immediate flow of images that make my feet and hands feel weak. "Anyway, we should put on some atmosphere music. Any suggestions?"

"talk dirty to me." Felix immediately suggests.

"Inappropriate. Definitely not." John shoots him down.

"What about... skrillex?"

"Gives me a headache." Sheyna frowns. "maybe... Great Big Sea?"

"I hate folk music." Michael growls. "Maybe... the guardians of the galaxy soundtrack?"

I smiled. "I love that movie! Sounds great!" I typed in the songs on youtube and hooked up my laptop to the sound system.

"Ooh, The Jackson Five. I met Michael once. Interesting fellow..." John muses.

"Before he died? Cool." Brady nods.

"Yes..." John trailed off, staring out the window. "What's that?" He asked, pointing to a window of the marine biology building, where a bright light was flickering.

I peered out, trying to see better. "Probably electrical issues." I decide, turning to the kids, who were carefully slitting the skin of the hearts. "Careful to do even cuts." I remind them, though in the back of my mind I begin to wonder if something bigger is happening. Could this be something other than a shitty prank? Snorting at my own ridiculous ideas, I shake my head and go back to giving pointers for the dissection as my Matt Smith lookalike partner stared out the window.

By the time we were done, there were scraps of pig heart all over the table; we'd have to strip the paper off. Somehow Michael had managed to get his shoe into the ceiling, and I had to climb up to get it. John and I had ended up having a race on the office chairs, though without a clear path and such a small room it wasn't much of a race.

The kids were now assisting me in clearing the blackboard while the 'victor' John spun around in his chair. "So where are you from, John Smith?" Mandy asked him as she scrubbed the board with her eraser vigorously.

He hesitated. "London. I work at the university there."

I quirked a brow. "Which one? I almost went to university in London, but didn't end up going through with it."

He stutters for a moment. "Westminster."

I nod. "That's where I would have gone. I was considering forensic sciences for a while but ended up on engineering and physics."

"Blah blah blah. Can we go now? My dad's waiting outside." Brady said.

"Well... I still need to strip the paper from the table and clean up the trays..." I frown. "John, can you clean up while I take these guys to meet their parents?"

He looks up at me from his chair. "Sure thing, Alison. No problem."

I give him a thumbs up. "Thanks. See you."

He nods, looking distracted for a moment. "Yeah, see you."

I turn and walk out the door, where the kids are standing. "Ooh, Alison. You'll see him." Mandy winks. Everyone laughs.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Come on, Brady's dad is waiting."

we took the elevator down, and headed across the grounds once again. "So, can we call you Allie?"

I sigh. "I guess so. My roommate, Charlie, calls me that. But he's a weirdo Brit like John."

"Is he the one who made too much fish?" Shadelle questions.

"That's the one."

"So _anyway_," Mandy starts again. "What do you think of Johnny boy?"

I shake my head. "He looks like a TV character, but he's just kind of weird."

"Do you happen to like this TV character?" Sheyna presses.

I shake my head. "I'm not answering that question. I'm not interested in John."

"Are you _sure_?" Michael winks.

"Yeah, we won't tell." Brady adds.

"_No_, guys. Now shush." We walk up to the pick-up spot, and see Brady's dad. Just like his son, he had styled blond hair and very green eyes. The man was leaning on his shiny mustang, which matched his grey business suit. As we approached, he smiled and walked over, taking the sign-out sheet and scribbling in the specified field.

Then the two climbed in their car just as other parents began to arrive. Surprisingly quickly my whole group was gone, and I was done working for the day. I headed into the library and grabbed a bottle of cold mountain dew to escape from the heat outside before having to walk home. It was air-conditioned inside, and I had forgotten just how hot out it had gotten. Then I headed out, homebound once more.


	5. Thoughts and a Fez (Ch4)

**AN: sorry about the quickie last chapter, but this IS just the shit that pours out of my brain when I'm bored, don't expect much from me, ever. so here you are. read and feel ashamed of me. I'm a piece of shit. -ARTT**

**ps. thanks for second and third review :33.**

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

As I walked home, I watched the blue jays flit from tree to tree- they were in abundance in Halifax, chasing crows away to feed on pretty much anything they wanted- the city was one huge meal for the birds. Often they stuck around all year, but they were mostly seen in the summer, their vibrant blue feathers sticking out among the large oak and maple trees along every road.

As I passed the building where I took my classes, I remembered my physics book- I had left it on the table back in the room. I wouldn't be able to study if I didn't have it with me! "Shit." I cursed, turning around and dropping my skateboard on the ground before rolling down the small hill I had walked up. I turned around a few corners and stumbled off my board, staggering slightly. I picked the wheeled device up, and started off in the direction of the psych building once again. Past the library, down the path, avoid people along the way, through the administration building, down another path, into the life sciences building, down a hall, and into the psychology section. I jabbed the button for the top floor a few times, as if that signal of urgency would make it go faster.

Riding the elevator was a lot different after being used to being crammed in with six- seven now- people. When the doors slid open, I stepped out quietly as I heard my fellow counsellor speaking to someone. I wasn't normally the eavesdropping kind of girl, but this was a special circumstance, I decided. So, hiding behind the corner, I plugged my outside ear, and listened.

"no, Amy. Weren't you listening? It's circular gallifreyan. Someone in this room, in _my_ science group, writes in the language of the time lords. I need to figure out who it is by the end of the week, which means we need to stick around." I could hear John- The Doctor- say.

"You mean even after we take care of those... whatever you called them?" Amy's scottish voice

"If it takes that long, yes."

I backed up a bit. Something told me I didn't want him to know I was the one who had wrote it, or that I knew more about him than probably even River Song. Taking a deep breath in, I decided I could retrieve my textbook tomorrow.

As I turned, I smacked right into someone, falling backwards, slamming my head on the floor and yelling out in pain. My bag flipped open and papers flew into the air like confetti. "_Motherfucker_!" I yelled, a little too loudly. "Fucking shit-dicks." I growl, grimacing.

"Well alright then." I heard yet another British voice say. I sat up to see Rory Williams, still lying on the ground.

My eyes widened. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I leapt to my feet and offered him my hand. He accepted, and I hauled him off the floor as Amy and the Doctor stepped out into the hall.

"No no, it was my fault. I snuck up on you like that."

"Rory, what happened?" The Doctor asks.

"I just ran into her coming out of the bathroom." He explains as I stoop to scoop up the pages spilled everywhere; an early draft of my physics thesis.

"Well you should watch where you're going, Mister Pond." he turns to me. "Oh it's Alison. Hello!"

I looked up from picking up the many pages now scattered everywhere. "Hi." I then resumed grabbing pieces of paper.

Amy leans down to help me pick everything up, and halts to read a piece. "what's this?" she turns to the Doctor. "It looks like a peek inside your brain." she tells him, squinting at the words. "Bunch of techno-babble to me."

I laugh. "It's my physics thesis, early draft. It's actually really bad, don't look at it."

The Doctor snatches the paper from her hands. "what's it about?"

I sigh. "Nothing interesting. Now, I came back for my textbook. So I'll grab it, and then I'm out of here." I grab the page from his hands and stroll into the room. I move to the front of the room, grab the thick book off the desk, and move out, walking past the three people watching me. "Thanks. Sorry for running into you, Rory." I then walk down the stairs and, once I'm sure I'm out of sight, I start running home. Talk about awkward.

I strolled down the street, hugging my book as I walked towards my apartment. I unlocked the door and stepped in, sighing as I swung it shut. "thank the gods that's over." I sighed, walking into the living room/ kitchen, where I plopped down, on the couch, starting up some Skyrim. It was time to blow off steam from a very confusing day. Whether it was a prank or not, the whole thing was crazy, and I was frustrated as hell.

As I jabbed buttons wildly, hacking and slashing in the virtual world, I hear the door open behind me. Charlie stumbles in, and I pause the game to turn and look at him. The bags under his eyes are pronounced, and his teal scrubs are speckled with blood, and he looks absolutely miserable as he shuffles down the hall, turns left, and walks into his room. I fish my phone out of my pocket to check the time. The screen reads 23:08. I peer outside and realize just how dark it really is; the moon is out and the stars are shining. I unpause the game and kill the last few enemies before saving and turning off the xbox and tv.

I sigh as I walk into my room, climbing up onto my bed, which I had propped up on stilts so I could fit rubbermaid bins underneath, all labelled with what was inside them. Mostly office supplies, stacks of papers on different subjects, and flash drives with dedicated files on them. However, one box was full of knick-knacks and do-hickeys, things I couldn't put out anywhere.

I leaned over the bed, hanging by my legs, and pulled the box out just enough to open it. I rummaged around inside until I came up with a fez. Inside was a bunch of Doctor Who merchandise, and though my sonic screwdriver was out of batteries and my time lord replica fob watch was broken, at the bottom was my tenth doctor's tie. I frowned. Those would have to stay a secret, as well.

I closed up the bin and pulled myself back up onto the bed. It occurred to me that I hadn't changed out of my counsellor clothing, but I just sighed and buried myself under the covers. I could go a day without changing.

I wondered why The Doctor was here, if it really was him. Probably something dangerous, I thought. But did I want to get involved? I wasn't a very athletic person, though I could climb pretty well and was pretty good at laser tag, those skills wouldn't help me in a proper survival situation, at least as far as I knew.

No, I decided. I wouldn't get involved. It was probably just a prank anyway. Three doppelgängers and some cosplay is all it took to get the average whovian flipping their lids. It was all the fanfiction, I supposed. Put false hope in everyone's heads. Everyone wanted an escape from the mundane, but the truth was that anyone can escape from the mundane on their own.

I slowly drifted off to sleep, staring up at the moon. _I should have applied to NASA._


	6. Calm Before the Clumsy (Ch5)

**AN: This is, yet again, kind of a short one. but the next one is pretty long and starts to get pretty serious, so hopefully it won't be too annoying that it's short now, because the next one's gonna get uploaded tomorrow!**

**...unless I forget, or something. I tend to do that. Anyway, enjoy this next chapter. -ARTT**

I woke up early the next morning. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I rolled out of bed. Just as I was on the edge of the mattress, tipping towards earth, I realized that I had made a terrible mistake.

I hit the floor with enough force to make the bins under my bed shake.

It was still a little dark out. I didn't really mind, though, because I was all bundled up in my coat as I walked down the street as fog curled around my legs. I held a brown paper cup, from of the plastic lid of which steam drifted, adding to the dark grey of the world around me. I smiled slightly as a crow swooped low over the street, probably searching for food. My side still hurt slightly from falling out of bed, but with the soothing taste of Tim Horton's tea I all but forgot about the dull ache in my ribcage.

That was one thing I would miss if I ever moved away. Walking into a coffee shop and having that feeling of being right at home. The friendly people at the counters, the general friendliness of it all. The Canadian nice-ness stereotypes were true, I thought to myself. Heck, someone bumps into me and _I_ apologize.

I laugh to myself, taking another sip of my hot beverage clutched in my hand. In the orange messenger bag I had slug over my shoulder was yet another container of vinegar-soaked fish and chips, along with my physics book, laptop, and papers. I never went anywhere without them after the apartment got robbed in my first year. Luckily I had a flash drive with all the files on it, or I would have lost everything.

As I moved onto university grounds, I saw only one other person, a runner down on the field, slogging through the moist turf. Heading towards the life sciences building, because the library would still be closed for another half hour according to my phone, I hummed to myself as I pushed open the doors and walked towards the psych room once more. I could ditch my stuff there and set up the first activity in advance. Great plan, right? That's what I thought as I walked up the stairs, deciding not to take the elevator.

Five flights later I concluded that my decision was a fucking stupid one. I collapsed on the floor, groaning as I lay there. No one was in the building yet, classes started in an hour. I could make as much noise as I wanted. I pulled myself up off the floor with a little wooden ledge in the wall, but it flew out and I fell over again, the wood board still in my hands.

I stared at it for a second before it clicked. "Shit." I said, and tried to shove it back in.

It took three tries and the bottom of my shoe as an on-the-spot hammer to shove it in all the way. I looked around, checking to make sure there were no janitors or security cameras around before sighing. Next time I wanted to be dramatic about something like that, I would use the door handle or something. I sighed at my own clumsiness.

"It's days like these I really connect to Clint Barton on a spiritual level..." I sighed, walking to the room, unlocking the door, and setting my bag down on the table. I pulled my laptop out of the bag, hooked it up to the projector, and then began setting up bottles of different 'organic' things on two of the tables. We would be having people come in to show us how to make environmentally friendly things, so I didn't have to do much in the morning part of the day.

I fished earbuds out of my jacket pocket, sticking one in my ear and hooking it up to my phone. Scrolling through my songs, I selected 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', dancing very slightly to the music as I set out small cups and things. Bottles of coconut oil and vinegar, tubs of baking soda, and other materials that our visitors had requested we provide for our campers.

Finishing up, I wrote 'Welcome, Environmental Protection' on the board in big bold letters on the blackboard. Then I hurried outside, locking the door behind me before hurrying into the elevator and going down to ground level. I then hurried out towards the library one more time, getting there less than a minute before the first kid got there. My tea had gone pretty much cold, but I didn't care; having gotten up early, I needed the caffeine to stay awake. It would be a long day, I could already tell.


	7. Fish and Chips- Deadly Weapon (Ch6)

**AN: Hey! now we're finally getting into stuff other than just dicking around at science camp. that's good, always important to have action-y stuff in a story. anyway, I have some of this monstrosity pre-written so I'm sorry if it kinda cuts off abruptly, I tried to make it an okay chapter ending but you should know by now this is a pretty crappy story. sorry. -ARTT  
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_Recap: Finishing up, I wrote 'Welcome, Environmental Protection' on the board in big bold letters on the blackboard. Then I hurried outside, locking the door behind me before hurrying into the elevator and going down to ground level. I then hurried out towards the library one more time, getting there less than a minute before the first kid got there. My tea had gone pretty much cold, but I didn't care; having gotten up early, I needed the caffeine to stay awake. It would be a long day, I could already tell._

When I had all my campers with me, and we were ready to go and start the day, John, or The Doctor, or Matt Smith's lookalike, or _whoever_ he was hadn't shown, and though Rory had shown up for the Quarks, there was no Amelia either. I ignored it and simply brought the campers up and got them situated for the day's activities.

"Seriously, he shows up for one day and then disappears again?" Sheyna huffs as we sit and play 'crazy eights' with Brady's deck of cards.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I groan, laying down an eight card. "Hearts suit." the kids growl in frustration; apparently I'm the only one who still has hearts left. "Either way, this means I can't even use the loo."

Michael gives me a strange look. "What the hell is a loo?"

I laugh a bit. "It's the british term for the bathroom. Charlie always uses it, and I kinda picked up some of his slang."

Shadelle lays down a two, forcing Felix to pick up extra cards. "So can you give us an answer yet?"

I roll my eyes. "Give it up, I'm not into him."

"What about your roommate? Are you sure you two aren't actually together?" Brady jokes.

"What is _with _you guys and trying to get me to crush on guys? What if I'm gay?" I joke.

The six kids stare at me for a moment. "Are you?" Mandy asks.

I lay down a card on top of Michael's. "Well..." I consider it for a moment. "Uh, I guess kinda?"

"Straight answers, Allie." Shadelle says.

"I'm a pansexual. Everyone. All of the genders. All of them." I say, trying to make light of the subject.

"Same." Sheyna mutters.

"Cool." Michael nods. "I've never met a pansexual before."

We then sat in silence for a while, playing cards, until I was finally out of the game as the victor. I slammed my cards down on the table. "AW YES! THE VICTOR OF CARDS!" I shout, pushing back across the floor and spinning around.

"Did you eat an entire bag of skittles before you came today?" Brady asks.

I shake my head. "No, but I did have a pretty big cup of tea from Tim's." I admit.

Mandy shakes a finger at me teasingly. "Tsk, tsk, university student. You shouldn't be drinking caffeine, it's bad for you." She says in a mockingly mother-ish voice.

"You know what else is bad for me? Listening to your sass." I say.

A knock sounds at the door, and I scurry over to pull it open, revealing two women in 'Environmental Protection' shirts, adorned with trees. "Hi, is this the SuperNOVA Innovators Science group?" one of the women asks. She has long brown hair in a braid that snaked around to hang in front of her shoulder.

"It is indeed!" I say, grinning widely. I'm suddenly aware of the fullness in my bladder, and realize, I really, really need to pee. Now that there are people here to supervise, I can actually be out of the room and not have potential legal repercussions.

"Great!" She and her (so far) silent partner step into the room. "We're here to teach you about the importance of preserving our planet and how you can make your own environmentally friendly toiletries and things!"

I lean over to her. "Do you think I can step out and use the washroom and leave these guys with you?" I whisper.

"Of course." She smiles kindly. "Too much tea this morning?"

I nod sheepishly. "Yeah."

"I understand. Go ahead."

I rush out of the room, and head towards the bathroom door near the stairs, twisting the silver ring around my middle finger, round and round. A gift from my mother, the silver ring was what I fiddled with unconsciously all the time.

I stepped into the bathroom, and, upon getting into the stall to do my business, I hear a massive fart. The smell wasn't normal, either it smelled like my breath after forgetting to brush her teeth overnight. Foul, like plaque and bacteria and general nastiness. I furrowed my brow and looked at the wall of the stall next to me. I heard nothing else, so I continued on with my business without saying anything until another one ripped through the room.

"For the love of Cranberries, what did you _eat_?" I ask, pulling up my jeans and stepping out to come face-to-face with a very large green monster.

I was all of a sudden very grateful for the fact I had already emptied my bladder. I screeched like a bat from hell and backed up into the stall, terrified as the thing approached. I made a split second decision, hoped I wouldn't mess it up, and dropped to the floor as it swung it's huge arm at me. I then rolled to one side, under the stall wall, and out behind it. I couldn't believe it. Who would dress up as a monster and assault someone in a bathroom?

I ran into the room, breathing heavily, and was shocked at what I saw. Another of the green things had backed the kids up against the wall, and the guest-lady in between them. "Hey!" I yelled, picking up the nearest object and throwing it.

My aim was horrible. The novel I had grabbed sailed right past the thing, but I certainly got it's attention. It turned, and I realized just what the hell it was. A Raxicorico... whatever it was. A Slitheen-type creature.

Now I was just mad. "What the hell do you think you're playing at?" I asked them angrily. The prank had gone too far now.

It made warbling gurgl-y noises in response, and I snorted. "Oh for fuck's sake, cut it out, this isn't funny!"

When it started towards me I realized it might not be a prank after all. I backed up, all the way against the table by the door, eyes wide and maybe panicking just a little. "what the hell." I breathed. My hand found purchase on another solid thing to throw, and I pulled it towards me.

It was my lunch. I looked down at it, and then remembered something important. The ninth Doctor had defeated the same creatures in Downing Street using vinegar. My lunch just so happened to be coated with it, and there were bowls full of the same stuff for the Environmental Protection thing.

I yanked open the tupperware container of my favourite food, thought of a prayer to the gods of alien fighting, and tossed the contents at the eight foot, slime green monstrosity in front of me.

It was a direct hit. The creature screeched and began to foam. I ducked under it's flailing arms and grabbed another container of vinegar, tossing it at the beast. It screeched again, louder this time, and lumbered towards me, it's flesh beginning to melt. I screamed, terrified, until a loud splat sounded, and I felt a large amount of wet, slimy _something_ hit me.

I cautiously peeked open an eye, wiping the slime off my face with my hands first. Green goo was splattered on the walls, a pile was on the floor just in front of me, and the campers were splattered with some as well, though having been at point blank range I was covered in it. In the pile of translucent goo I could see guts, and gagged. Everything smelled like the farts the other one had let off in the bathroom.

...Shit. The other one. I stood up, dripping Slitheen guts. "What _was _that?" Michael asked, voice shaking.

"I have no idea." I lie, eyes wide. "But apparently it doesn't like vinegar."

Sheyna grimaces, wiping goop out of her hair. "How did you know that would work?"

I shake my head. "I didn't." that wasn't a lie. It could have been an insane murderous cosplayer, and quite frankly it would have been more likely than an actual alien.

"So you threw your lunch at it... why?" Shadelle questioned.

"It was the first thing I grabbed! Don't knock the method, cause it just saved all of you!" I spit out defensively.

"Yeah, I suppose." Brady breathed. "I'd just like to know what it was."

"Well, Maybe we could ask..." I muttered.

"uh, Alison, I don't know if you noticed, but it _exploded._" Mandy points out. These kids were taking it quite well. Come to think of it, so was I.

"Yeah, one attacked me in the bathroo-" I was cut off as there was a crash outside. "-m. Uh, I'm going to barricade the door now." I said, running over to close and lock the door. Micheal and Shadelle were immediately moving into action, helping me push tables up against the door. Soon Sheyna, Brady, and Mandy were helping. Felix and the woman from Environmental Protection sat on the floor, eyes wide and silent. Felix rocked back and forth, lips moving but making no sound.

The door shuddered, and I saw the knob rattle. I grabbed the edges of two tables and pulled them to sit against the slowly accumulating pile against the door. It shook harder, and I heard multiple gurgling noises. It finally hit me- that was their language. And if there were multiple of them...

We were in trouble. "Shit." I cursed. "Okay, new plan, We're getting out of here."

Brady looked at me like I was crazy, now pushing back against the pile of tables in an attempt to keep the door shut. "How?!" He yelled.

"Window." I said, yanking the curtains off their rod and propping the metal tube against the door. I did the same for the other two windows on the outside window, allowing light to shine in weakly from the foggy outdoors. I tied the curtains together in figure eight knots, the strongest knot I knew how to tie. Together, it was just enough to reach a storey above the roof of the building next to us. Now all the campers were trying to hold the door shut as I tied the makeshift rope to one of the curtain rods, hanging it out the open window. I then moved over to the woman, who by the looks of it was about to go into shock. I knelt down in front of her and forced eye contact.

"Hey. I didn't catch your name." I said softly.

She mumbled something quietly, and I tilted my head, telling her without words that I couldn't hear her. "Isabelle." She said, louder this time.

I nodded. "Okay, Isabella. I know this is crazy, but just think of it as an adventure. I'm going to need you to climb down the rope I made out of the curtains." I gestured to the bar where it was tied. "Do you think you can do it for me?"

She hesitated for a moment. "I think so." She didn't sound very confident.

I smiled at her nonetheless. "Great, come on, lets go." I helped her up and led her to the window. She picked up the material and stared at it, unsure. I smiled encouragingly (I hoped.) she set her jaw in determination, and stepped onto the windowsill. Slowly lowering herself down, she looked up at me the whole way, breathing heavily. Her hands shook, and when she reached the end of the rope, she dropped to the ground. She landed on one knee and tore the jeggings she was wearing, but other than that seemed unscathed. Felix was next, though he needed no convincing. He simply moved towards the window and climbed down, a little too quick for comfort, but time _was_ of the essence, I supposed.

The next to go down was Sheyna. I took her place helping to hold the door shut as she went down, which meant I wasn't able to watch her from the door, but she called up when she was safe. Slowly, each one of the campers in my care went down the rope, until it was just me.

With my back to the tables, leaning against them with everything I had, I grabbed a piece of chalk and scribbled on the blackboard in Gallifreyan on the off chance The Doctor came looking for us. 'Slitheen, hiding, marine bio.' I scribbled in, hoping it would make sense. It was a flowery way to write, but otherwise the Slitheen-things could read where we were going and I didn't have time for full sentences.

I then released the door, and grabbed my bag and two bottles of vinegar from the tables and stuck them in my coat pockets before climbing out the window. The door opened with a crash behind me, and I felt adrenaline pump through my system as I tried to make my way to safety as fast as possible. When I reached the end of the fabric, I breathed a sigh of relief, and let go as I hit the solid surface below.

I turned to the group, who all looked at me wide-eyed. "We're going to the Marine Biology building." I told them, surprised at my steady voice. It was time to investigate the light I had seen yesterday- it couldn't be a coincidence.


	8. Mean Green Doom Machines (Ch7)

**AN: I've been getting lots of reviews on this story, all of which are super kind and make me feel really happy. great to know that people like what comes out of my brain when I'm on break.**

**In other words, I've been watching the traffic stats and we've got quite a bit of internationality going on there, though the country in majority is the US. we've also had 2 Canadian viewers, so that's pretty cool! also among the countries I can mention are Singapore, China, Mexico, and Germany. I think there was someone from the Netherlands as well. that's pretty awesome and exciting, and thank you all for reading this story. :33 -ARTT**

As we hurried over to the building, often checking behind us in case the creatures attacked again, I tried to claw the goo out of my curly brown hair- it had partially crusted and parts were sticking up stiffly, to my disgust. My counsellor shirt was soaked all down the front, my pants were flecked everywhere but the shins, which were still dripping. I was covered in guts and trying to stave off shock.

I had my bag over my shoulder, and my coat stuffed inside the bag; my only dry piece of apparel. Stuffing my arm in my bag, I came up with my physics book. It was heavy, strong, and relatively large. I decided it was an okay weapon if it came to it. My only goal was to get the kids to safety. We stepped into the marine biology building, and I looked around to see no one, though gargling noises were coming from down the stairs to my right. I motioned at the group to follow me, and sprinted across the main floor, hoping and praying no one would see me. I shoved the door into the tower of stairs open, holding it for the people under my protection as they ran in. I counted; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Everyone was there.

I reached into my bag again as I swung the door shut- there had to be something I could use to try and secure it. I came up with my tenth doctor's tie. Deciding not to question how it had made its way into my bag, I wrapped it twice around the door handles and knotted it multiple times. Yanking on it to ensure it would stay shut, I then joined the group just inside the stairwell.

"Don't the monomers have their group here?" Sheyna gasped.

I shrugged. "No clue. But if they are, that's great."

Felix spoke for the first time. "Great that we have more people to watch out for?" he asked exasperatedly, voice shaking.

"No." I told him. "But they've got water guns in their room. We can use those to spray vinegar at the..." I trailed off, looking for a word to call them.

"Green monsters of doom?" Brady offered.

"Green monsters of doom." I agreed. "Let's go."

we ran up the stairs, and I heard gargling noises echoing from below us. A long string of curses streamed through my head, and I urged everyone to hurry, biting my lip. The doors shook behind us, and we ran into the third floor door, where Sheyna claimed the monomers to be- her younger sister was also in the program. Immediately we heard more gurgling and screams. I popped the top of my container of vinegar, ready for anything. We turned the corner to see another Slitheen-type monster pounding on a door angrily.

I felt my heart leap into my throat. I was about to be incredibly stupid. "Hey, green monster of doom!" I yelled, standing in the middle of the hallway, completely unprotected. I trembled slightly as it turned towards me, it's almost baby-like head creaking. It blinked twice, eyelids coming from the side, and I swallowed nervously.

It's gurgling was slightly comprehensible. "more dinner." I heard, and took a step back.

"Why are you here? What are you, and what's your purpose?" I asked, trying to sound brave, but utterly failing as my voice cracked and I sounded more like a mouse standing up to a lion.

It sounded like it was laughing. "I am Blorg Fel-Fotch Lutiven-Day Slitheen. I am here only to feed on the weak little humans of this planet after my family was murdered. All of you will die."

I grinned nervously, backing away as it advanced. "Yes, well, um... it's been nice talking but I'd really best get on to helping the little kids in this building, so..." I cringed, and tossed the vinegar I clutched at the beast in front of me.

It screeched, lashing out as it's flesh sizzled. A claw sliced towards me, and I flinched as it swung past. I rolled forwards, just barely getting past it before turning and jabbing my leg backwards, knocking out where I saw a joint. It fell forwards, shaking the building, and I dumped some more vinegar on his head before running in the opposite direction, hoping to avoid the splatter.

I slipped on a puddle of goo, my feet flipped out from under me and I hit the ground hard. All the air went out of my lungs, and more goo sprayed out from behind me. My hair was, again, thoroughly soaked. I groaned, coughing. It seemed very typical of me to slip and fall on guts in the middle of an attempted rescue.

"Alison? You okay?" Michael peered around the corner, seeing the guts everywhere and me on the ground.

"Careful," I called, propping myself up off the ground with my arms. "It's slippery."

I heard a laugh, and the group came around the corner. Sheyna helped me up, and then gasped. "Alison, your arm!" she said, wide-eyed.

My arm was bleeding. Not a lot, I thought to myself as crimson leaked from the tear in my skin. I hadn't felt it, but now that I looked at it I could feel the sting. The Slitheen had probably cut me with it's claws or something, no big deal. I cringed, and Sheyna looked like she would be sick.

"Oh, right. You have a thing with blood, right?" I asked, and she nodded. I reached down and tore a strip off of my jeans, tying it over my arm to act as a bandage and cover the wound. "Better?"

She nodded, and I moved over to the door that Blorg had been trying to beat down. I knocked lightly, four times. "Hello? Is anyone in there?"

A voice called from behind the door. "Who's there? Another monster?" It sounded like Jeff.

"No, you idiot." I bit out. "It's Alison. Open the door."

I heard some scraping and grating noises. The door cracked open, and he peered out, looking me up and down. I was still dripping guts, and he seemed suspicious. "They can wear skin suits. How do I know you're not in a skin suit?"

I shook my head. "Maybe the fact I just killed the thing trying to pound down your door?"

he pulled the door open. "Okay, okay." his eyes were wide and glazed, and he had a bloody scratch on his forehead. "How did you kill it?" he asked, as I stepped in.

"They explode when mixed with vinegar." I said casually, looking around. There were seven kids in the room, all of them terrified and huddling in the corner. I felt a pang of mixed fear and sympathy. Some of the kids were barely old enough to understand. I bit my lip, which was raw and torn from the same impulse.

"Uh, where's the rest of your kids?" Brady asked, and I finally registered that there were twelve monomers, not seven. Horror spilled through me, like a rapid waterfall of terror.

"They took them." Jeff's voice cracked, and tears spilled down his face. "I couldn't save them, and they took them. I don't know where, but they're gone." he paused. "Oh god, what if they ate them?"

I looked around to see the kids getting worked up. They were believing Jeff's hysterics, and I couldn't let them start to panic more, or they'd be out of control. So I did the first thing that came to mind, and slapped him. "Jeff, you need to calm down and focus." I told him quietly. "I don't know where these things are from, but they want revenge on Earth for the death of their family members. Which _means_ that they'll probably want to cause grief on top of death." my mind was working away, trying to figure out what the Slitheen could be planning. "If they didn't just kill the kids in front of you, they're probably planning something else. Something like..." I slapped my head. "An execution. The kids may be still alive." I pulled out my laptop, propping it open and setting it down on the nearest table. I connected to the news channel, and turned the volume up for him. "Watch this. If they're doing an execution, it would be publicly broadcast. Call me on my cellphone if that turns out to be the case."

"W-wait, where are you goi-ing?" Isabelle stuttered, eyes wide.

I pulled my coat out of my bag and wrapped it around her shoulders, it would act as a mediocre shock blanket. "I'm going to see if I can find the kids, I guess."

"That's really brave of you." Michael told me.

"Is it?" I blinked. "I don't think I've ever really been brave before." I shook my head. "I wish I wasn't, it's really scary." I turned to Jeff. "Where are your water guns?"


	9. Things are Gonna Get Easier (Ch8)

**AN: Ayyyy! ARTT is back again with another chapter! I was working late to get this thing done, and according to my beautiful word processor, I've hit the mark of 14,068 words. that's a lot, in case you didn't know. **

**So yeah! thanks for reading, and the next chapter will be up late tonight or some time tomorrow, at least in my time zone. :P -ARTT**

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><p>Loaded up with vinegar filled spray guns on a makeshift holster set, still caked in dried slime chunks, and utterly terrified, I was ready to go and find five children. I looked around at all the people in the room. Sheyna was sitting with her sister, Michael and Brady were staring blankly at the floor, Felix was huddling in his sweater, shaking slightly, Isabelle was clutching the sides of my jacket and crying, and the monomer children were crying and huddling, all packed into the corner.<p>

I looked into a mirror on the wall. My long hair was tied back in a high ponytail, but was crusted into little chunks that stuck up and were solid. My eyes had bags under them from lack of sleep the night before, and my jeans were torn from making bandages for myself and Jeff. My counsellor polo t-shirt had stains from goo, and my shoes, my mismatched converse high tops, were crusted with the goo, that appeared to have become almost transparent now that it had dried.

I sighed, and headed out the door, locking it behind me. I heard Jeff push the barricade of tables and chairs back into place behind me. I decided to start from the top of the building and work my way down. I pulled one of my spray guns out of the 'holster' I had made for it, feeling safer with a weapon in my hands. Now it was just a matter of the same instincts I had used to play laser tag so many times. See, aim, shoot.

I walked up the stairs cautiously, trying to be as silent as possible. _'please don't trip over your own feet.'_ I thought to myself as I climbed the stairs. _'just this once don't be clumsy.'_

I reached the sixth floor of the marine biology building after quite a bit of slowly walking up a set of stairs to try and be quiet. But when I reached the top of the stairs, I heard gurgling, saw a blue flickering light, and decided being silent was out of the question, and finalized the decision when I heard a scream.

I summoned up a strength I didn't even know I had, and slammed my foot into the door, right next to the handle, making it smash open. "Hey!" I yelled, stepping in with spray guns raised.

A Slitheen spun around, dropping a little girl that had been raised to its mouth. She landed on top of a bunch of other kids, a few of whom were awake and all of whom were tied up. The Slitheen gurgled with giddiness and advanced on me, raising it's arms to slice. That's when I felt a buzz in my jeans pocket, and my phone emitted a song. "Ooh child, things are gonna get easier. Ooh child, things are gonna get brighter." It sang, and I was reminded of Guardians of the Galaxy.

I pulled the device out of my pocket, holding a finger up to the alien in front of me. "sorry, I have to take this. My aunt is having a baby." I joked, but the Slitheen took it literally and lowered it's arms.

"Alison? Yeah, it's on the news. It's everywhere. No, hang on. It's stopped." Jeff said, apparently very slightly behind. "What is it doing? Is that The Five Starships? What?"

"Yeah, Jeff. I know. Now, kind of in the middle of something here. Talk to you later."

"Alison, wait!" I hung up the phone and stashed it in my pocket.

"Now, where were we?" it raised it's arms in response. "Oh yes." I raised my gun and pulled the trigger. Vinegar sprayed out the end, the jet hitting the beast in the chest. It squealed and flung it's arms toward me, but this time I was prepared for the attack and leapt to the side, spraying again. This time it hit it in the eye, and it gargled in pain. I wheeled around and backed towards the kids, still spraying as it stumbled towards me. It started dripping everywhere, and I groaned as it farted one last time. "Not again."

Slime sprayed me in the face. Luckily, not as much as last time, due to most of it having sprayed towards the door. I turned to the kids. The ones who were awake stared at me fearfully, yelling things into the cloths shoved in their mouths. Most of them were crying, and I bit my lip once again. Blood dripped into my mouth and I immediately regretted everything.

I rushed over and began untying knots and pulling rags out of mouths. Immediately, wails pierced the air, and I had children only just starting elementary school latch on to me, sobbing. I untied all the kids, and woke the ones who were sleeping, who blinked open their eyes, confused and afraid. I noted that there were more than five, which was concerning. The monomers weren't the only ones kidnapped.

Once everyone was free, I took a moment to breathe, hugging anyone who needed it. A small hand tapped my shoulder. "e-excuse me miss." I turned to see a little boy, who couldn't have been more than seven, hugging an even littler boy, who was probably around five.

"Yeah?" I said softly, noticing the tears in his eyes. "What's up?"

"What about them?" he pointed to the corner, where I saw a huddled shape in the darkness.

"Oh my god." I said, shaking off the kids clutching my legs so I could rush over and pull the unconscious person out of the darkness, but there was more than one.

Amy Pond and The Doctor were both cuffed with actual handcuffs, though the dirty rags were still present with them as well. I had nothing to pick a lock with, even if I knew how, which I didn't. Lockpicking in skyrim was different from doing it in real life. I did, however, pull the cloths out of their mouths, grimacing before deciding there was only one way to tell in any way whether they had been drugged or just knocked out. I sniffed the cloth and gagged. They hadn't been drugged, so I didn't have to be concerned about The Doctor being poisoned by the drug, but I did have to be worried about concussion.

That got me worried about the kids. Luckily all of them were awake, but I needed to find them medical attention. Any one of them could be concussed or just in general injured. I looked around at the kids. "Come on, guys. We need to get out of here." I said, motioning for them to go out the door.

"What about those two?" A little girl asked.

...Right. Those two. I could probably only carry one of them down the stairs with me, even then I probably wouldn't do it safely. I opted to suck on my lip this time, and began to twist my ring again. "Um..." I scrunched my nose up. "I'll come back for him. We need to get out of here, quick."

I scooped Amy up bridal style, staggering under the weight of a whole other person, and led the way out of the room. I then instructed the oldest looking kid there, who seemed about nine, to take my spray gun in case we ran into any Slitheen. Then we headed down the stairs, and I tried desperately to stay balanced as I walked down the stairs we reached the third floor, everyone piled into the hallway while I pounded on the door with my foot.

I heard the barricade slide open and Shadelle flung open the door, helping me inside. Amy began to stir as I stumbled in and set her down on a chair, breathing heavily. "Wh..." she opened her eye just a little. "Doctor..." She seemed questioning.

"Amy?" I asked, leaning in. "Hello, Miss Pond-Williams? You awake?"

She blinked her eyes open, and then screamed, falling out of the chair and hitting her head again. "Owww..." she moaned, rubbing the back of her head.

I cringed. "Oooh, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Anyway, uh..." I looked to Jeff. "Can you check her for concussion?" I asked him. "I need to go get th-..." I trailed off- no, that's not right, he's not 'The Doctor' to me. "John." I corrected myself.

"Sure thing." he nodded, seeming a lot more stable. I headed out as he pulled out a flashlight and checked Amy's eyes.

"Oi, watch it!" I heard her growl before Shadelle slid the barricade shut behind me.


	10. Attack of the Bowtie Men (Ch9)

**AN: wow. five reviews on the last chapter. thank you all for supporting my brain's thoughts and stuff. very kind of you.**

**and special shout out to the few Canadians who've stuck with the story so far, and the 45 Americans who bumped my reads over there up to 150. kind of concerned for your well-being, but thanks nonetheless. -ARTT**

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><p>I headed up the stairs once more, clutching my spray gun tightly. When I made it to the top level again, I stopped to listen, holding my breath. Nothing. I moved around the corner, and saw the The Doctor was no longer in the same spot as before. His cuffs were open on the floor, but he himself was gone. I looked around in confusion until something hit me from behind, launching me forward onto the floor. I felt arms, thin ones but still full of power, wrap around my neck. I hit the ground and rolled to the side. Slamming my body down on whoever was on my back before rolling again, wrapping my legs backwards, grabbing the arms that strangled me, and swinging my head back.<p>

I connected with something solid, and heard a howl of pain. Yanking the arms away from my neck, I rolled So I was on top of the person, locking one arm around their neck and the other around my wrist. I locked my legs around theirs and leaned back, putting pressure on their windpipe very slightly.

I finally got a good look at who my limbs were wrapped around, now that the only struggle was them trying to tear my arms off their throat. A large pouf of brown hair was in my face, and I could see a tweed jacket on their back. My grip loosened as I realized who it was, but apparently my 'fellow counsellor' wasn't done fighting. He twisted around and swung his fist into my face, once again rolling over and trapping my hands in one of his, the other arm across my throat. Air to my brain was cut off abruptly, and I struggled in the Time Lord's grip. He may not have been a fighter, but he was still good at it.

"Amy Pond, Amelia Pond-Williams. Where is she?" He hissed, and I spluttered, trying to give a response. "Answer me! I don't want to hurt you, but so help me-"

"John." I gasped out. "Can't. Breathe." my vision was slowly darkening and my lungs were involuntarily trying to take in air.

The pressure released, slowly. He was uncertain of whether to trust me. I turned my head to the side, coughed, and took in a deep breath. My chest burned, and my throat would be bruised in the morning. "Alison?" He said, confused. "What are you doing here?"

I didn't respond, focusing on breathing. When I decided I was okay, I muttered, "Trying to find you, but apparently you're not interested."

"Oh." he said sheepishly. "Right. Sorry."

We sat there for a moment. "uh, dude?" I said, staring at him. "You're still sitting on me. It's getting _kinda_ awkward."

He leapt off of me as if I had burned him, and I propped myself up on one arm. "You know, you're heavier than you look."

"Oi, I'll have you know I've never weighed less than this!" He straightened his bowtie indignantly.

"Even as a baby?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes- No!" he shook his head. "Whatever! Come on, let's go find Amy, she must have been taken somewhere." he moved towards the door.

I nodded, not getting up quite yet. My head still felt light. "Yeah, the monomers room. I carried her there. Jeff is checking her for concussion."

"Oh. Good, that's good. You never know with you humans, you're all so..." he paused for the right word, moving to lean on the door. "Delicate."

"Are you implying you're not human?" I asked, slowly standing up. If I went too fast, I could pass out. It had happened before at home, though not after being strangled.

His face morphed into an expression that clearly read '_shit._' leaning on the door casually, he started to respond, but the door swung outwards, taking him with it. He hit the floor with a thud, and I heard excited gurgling noises come from the floor below us.

"Uh, that's not good." I muttered. "Right. Um, uh..." I thought of a way to convince him to run, when he whipped out his sonic and scanned, the noise echoing through the stairwell. I heard lumbering feet approach.

"More Slitheen. That is not good, that is the opposite of good, uh, yes, well..." he stumbled over his words, peering down, when a green head popped out, hissing.

I let out a squeak and grabbed my spray gun. Gripping the handle tightly, I watched as the thing approached. "Doctor." It sounded like it was smiling. "I see you've gotten away from my brother. But I'm afraid this is the end of the line. You're out of plans. So which of you should die first, the girl? Or the boy trying to protect her?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Oh _hell_ no." I said, glaring at her. "I'm not some damsel in distress. He's not protecting me at all. If it's the end of the line for anyone..." I aimed my spray gun. "It's you."

With that I let loose. Vinegar sprayed from the nozzle, and the Slitheen squealed, falling back down the stairs. The thumping noise it made as it went was almost comical, if it wasn't so terrifying. I peered over the railing cautiously, trying to control my breathing.

"Well, that was interesting." The Doctor said from behind me. "How'd you know vinegar worked?" he peered at me suspiciously.

"Happy accident." I shrugged. "I threw my lunch at the first one we encountered and it started melting. Threw more vinegar at it and it exploded." I looked down at myself. "Honestly, did you not notice the fact I am _caked_ in slime?"

"Right..." he murmured, stuffing the sonic back in his pocket. "Well, come on then!"

I shook my head as he started back towards the hall we had come from. "Other way, bimbo."

"Right!" He turned around, almost tripping over himself. We headed down the stairs in silence, and I led him into the third floor.

Knocking on the door, I heard Amy call from inside. "Doctor? Are you there?" I heard the barricade slide open once again, and I walked in first.

"Oh, he's here all right. After he _attacked _me." I growled, now feeling the pain in my cheek where he'd punched me _and_ my neck where he'd pretty much strangled me.

"You what?" Amy asked, hands on her hips.

He looked very sheepish as most eyes were on him. "I thought she was a Slitheen!" he defended himself.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yes. I am a big green death monster from outer space. And I murdered the rest of my kind, which is why I'm covered in their guts and clutching a gun with the equivalent of their kryptonite..." I peered down at the spray gun. "Which is now empty." I sighed. "Damn."

Amy eyed me, in a way I could only describe as sassy. "So, are you the counsellor he was telling me about?" she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

I laughed a little. "if you mean the one who wouldn't let him splash liquid nitrogen on the wall or lick the squids we were using for dissection, then yes. That's me."

She held out her hand to shake. "I'm Amy. Amy Pond-Williams. Though you already knew that."

I nodded, taking her hand and wiggling it up and down. "Alison Noble. And yes, I did."

"Alison Noble." I hear the Doctor say behind me. "Noble. Noooooble." he plays around with the word for a bit as I shift uncomfortably. "Are you related to a Donna?" he asked. "No, of course you're not, you live in Canada. Never mind that." He turns, moving around the room impatiently.

"Where's Rory?" Amy asked.

I sighed. If I had to make one more god damned rescue...

I heard a pounding on the door right on cue. Brady pulled it open to revel Rory Williams, covered in goo and surrounded by small children. I smiled widely as Amy ran over and hugged her husband, getting goo all over herself but not caring. They were fucking adorable, I thought to myself.


	11. The Vinegar is Gone! (Ch10)

**AN: Hey! ARTT here with another chapter! it took me a while but I have most of the next one done as well, so I won't have to work too hard to get it up tomorrow.**

**Thanks for sticking with me! ^.^ -ARTT**

Time passed, and eventually it was time for the kids to go home. The Doctor gave a lecture on what to say to their parents about what they had done today, how to lie to their families faces. I sat back in my chair and watched sadly. These kids had been through hell today. We all had. I was exhausted, and just hoped no more Slitheen would show up, now that their plans had failed and their kin killed.

As I stood in the middle of the library courtyard, watching the kids half-heartedly kick around a ball, trying desperately to feel better, I felt my heart break a little. I had managed to rinse my hair out in the sink and cover my stained shirt and slashed arm with my coat, hiding the fact that it looked like I had been in a fight with a slimer ghost. I moved over to sit next to Sheyna, who was the last of the Innovators, the rest having been picked up. Her sister was staring blankly off into space, and I didn't blame her.

It had been a horrible day, and I had concluded that I was stupidly lucky I wasn't dead. _How do the companions do it?_ I wondered to myself as I saw the three people talking amongst each other, laughing occasionally. How did they stay alive, let alone sane?

Sheyna leaned on my shoulder, and I pretended not to notice the tears streaming down her face. She quickly wiped them away as her mother rolled up in her minivan, climbing out to come and sign her children out. The little sister, who's name I had no clue of, ran over and latched onto her mother's legs. I handed the woman the sheet and she walked away, laughing as she had to swing her child forward on her leg. Sheyna climbed into shotgun without a word, and I had to remind myself not to bit my lip.

I sighed. That was all of the Innovators- Brady and Michael had gotten picked up by Brady's mom, Felix signed himself out and walked home, Shadelle got picked up by her older brother, Mandy simply called a taxi, and now Sheyna was off. Standing up exhaustedly, I began walking up the street, sweating from the heat but not willing to take my coat off.

As I walked, I got the feeling someone was watching me, but after turning around, looking, and seeing nothing, I shrugged it off. Probably just an after effect of a long day. I crossed a few streets, hurrying so as not to hold up traffic during rush hour, as I made my way back to the apartment. When I got there, the house was silent, but the door was unlocked and the microwave was open. Furrowing my brow, I pulled off my shoes and set my bag down on the table near the door. "Charlie?" I called, looking around. A bowl of recently defrosted corn was on the coffee table, along with a croissant, half eaten. No tea, though. Charlie always drank tea with croissants. I was starting to get concerned. Had he left in a hurry, had somebody taken him, or was he still there?

"Hellooo?" I called, stepping down the short hallway towards the bedrooms. "Charlie, seriously. You there?"

I felt someone grab my shoulder, and I turned, eyes wide. It was Charlie, but he seemed off somehow. "Sorry I startled you." His voice sounded hollow. I was getting majorly freaked out.

"Char, maybe you should go and lay down. You don't look well."

"I am fine. Thank you for your concern. It was unnecessary." he not-so-gently guided me into the living room and pushed me in the direction of a couch.

"Seriously dude, you're freaking me out." I said, really on edge. "I had a really weird day and this is _not _helping."

He turned to me, eyes narrowed. He started towards me, and I took a few steps back. There was something wrong here, and I should have just run when I had the chance. "Shit." I cursed, before he grabbed my by my already bruised neck, and slammed me against the wall with immense strength. I gagged and lashed out, trying to break his grip. He was obviously not in the mood for games, and did that weird movie thing where the villain pushes the person up the wall.

I fought to take even a small breath, grabbing his hand and pulling myself up so my head wasn't resting on his hand for support. That allowed me to take in a small amount of air and repel the growing darkness at the edge of my vision, if only for a short while. "What..." I managed to get out. "Are... You?" I asked, coughing.

"I am the clean-up squad. Once I kill you, I'll move on to each of your smaller human companions and kill them, as well. Then I'll track down the Doctor and his companions, Amelia and Rory, was it? Yes. You are responsible for killing the rest of my family. I am the last of the Lutiven-Day branch, after you and those putrid time travellers killed the rest of my family," he growled.

"Don't-" I took in a breath, struggling. "Don't blame that on..." I took another breath. It was hard fucking work, the movies always lied. "Me." I finished.

"and why not? Because you were defending yourself? We were avenging our family. How is that any different?"

"Because... you were... trying to kill... innocent... children..." I spluttered.

"Small price to pay to avenge the deaths laid upon us."

"Bull... shit." I lashed out with my feet and hit him in the chin. He didn't react, simply moved his face with the blow.

"And you call yourselves innocent. Attacking people during casual discussion." He tossed me into the opposite wall almost effortlessly. The drywall gave way and cracked before I rebounded onto the floor. Scrambling up and trying to shake off the pain that shot through me, crawling towards the cupboard...

I was yanked up and slammed into the ground. I cried out in pain as my chest felt something akin to an explosion in it. I wrapped an arm around my chest, grimacing and attempting to shuffle away as he advances once more.

"You know..." I said, throat hurting so much that my words were croaky. "I really liked Charlie. He was pretty cool, when he wasn't cranky from work. He could have had so much potential, and you skinned him just to attack me."

"Oh. Now you know how I feel." he grinned, kicking me hard enough to send me flying into the kitchen. I staggered up and grabbed a knife. While he started towards me, I yanked open the cupboard and searched desperately for the vinegar. He laughed. "What, did you think I was dumb enough to leave you with something to kill me with?"

I spotted the vinegar container in the sink. It was open and upside down, with nothing in it. "Shit." I muttered again. I wrapped my hand around the handle of a drawer, and attempted throwing the knife at him. It sailed past his head and lodged into the wall above the TV.

He laughed. "You really are a clumsy one, aren't you?" Reaching for me, I don't think he was really anticipating getting hit with a drawer of utensils, but that is certainly what happened. I slammed the thing into his head, and I heard a satisfying crack as the wood connected with his head.

I took that opportunity to run headlong into him, knocking him to the floor before I struggled up off him, running out the door and towards the corner store a block away. He followed with a screech, but I was apparently pretty fast when hyped up on adrenaline. When I reached the store, I yanked on the door handles, but it didn't open. I looked to see a sign that read 'closed for the holiday' posted on pink paper. I growled, still clutching my chest in pain. Barefoot on the sidewalk, no one around, unarmed, I had no chance. That's when he appeared behind me, grabbed me by the arms, and dragged me along the street. I screeched, hoping that someone would hear me, even if they thought that he was a murderer or kidnapper or something, if would be better than nothing. But there was no aid as I was once again thrown into my apartment by an alien wearing my roommate's skin.

"I'm not done yet." he hissed. "I will make you pay for killing my family. Perhaps I'll strip your skin from your bones, maybe I'll tear off your limbs one by one, who knows? Maybe I'll do both!" he laughed at the concept.

I was out of options as he tore his skinsuit of Charlie and seemed to grow Slitheen arms. "And what'll happen if you try to return to Raxacoricofallapatorius?" I suddenly spit out.

He hesitated. "What?"

"Well, if they hear of your crimes, wouldn't they sentence you to death, like uh... Blon? I think it was Blon..."

"How do you know of this?" He hissed angrily. I breathed a sigh of relief. He was listening.

"I'm actually incredibly psychic. Just like I know that you're wearing a compression field around your neck in true form, and you've got one of the best senses of smell in the galaxy."

He grinned. "Well, it's true. I have an amazing sense of smell. I can smell the fear of a mouse from across the country."

"Absolutely incredible." I nodded. "Amazing."

He narrowed his eyes. "If you're a psychic, then you can see the future, correct?"

"Um, well... sometimes..." I stutter. "But actions change outcomes. You can never know for sure..."

He looks suspicious. "Oh really?"

I nod. "Very wibbly, the future. You can never really tell what's about to happen."

"Liar." he hisses, and his freakishly long claws jab into my arm.

I scream as pain blazes up along my nervous system. Tears start streaming down my face, and my cry is hoarse and not loud enough to attract attention. I feel hot blood dribble out of my arm, and screw my eyes shut.

"hmm." he mutters. "I haven't tasted human in so long... I wonder..."

I hear something crash behind him, and footsteps. More stabbing pain lashes through me, this time in my gut. I try to scream, but my throat is blocked, and I open my eyes to see that I am once again being lifted into the air and Amy, Rory, and The Doctor are standing in my doorway. _Great time to show up, assholes._ I think to myself, though unable to say that, or even breathe.

"Put her down." I hear The Doctor say threateningly.

"Or what? What will you do, Doctor? Kill me like the rest of my family? You make a single move, she dies before you can say 'Murderer'.

I start to feel hazy. Darkness rushes towards my eyes, and the world gets muffled. _Well, dicks._ I think to myself. _I'm about to pass out._ And then the pressure on my throat disappears, I fall to the floor, and suck in a deep breath. _This needs to stop happening. _


	12. Almost Dying and Party Crashers (Ch11)

**AN: Okay, so guess who started school again today? this chick! so my updates will be really slowed down, sorry. I think I can guarantee at least one a week, but if it's delayed for longer, don't worry, I'll be back! **

**so, without further ado, here's the chapter for now! -ARTT**

_Recap: I start to feel hazy. Darkness rushes towards my eyes, and the world gets muffled. Well, dicks. I think to myself. I'm about to pass out. And then the pressure on my throat disappears, I fall to the floor, and suck in a deep breath. This needs to stop happening. _

"_Alison?" _the voices around me are muffled, I hear a faint buzzing, and overpowering all of that is my heartbeat, racing in my ears. _"Hello? Alison, can you hear me?"_

I try to say something, but it comes out as a croak. The darkness in my vision disappears slowly, and I see a very large and angular brown and peach-ish blob. Green fills my vision for a moment after that, and the buzzing is loud. My thoughts are fuzzy, but I can figure out that I'm hearing a sonic screwdriver. Slowly my vision clears, and I can see the Doctor relatively clearly, though I think a contact has fallen out of my right eye, because everything's pretty blurry.

"Alison, if you can hear me, um, uh..." The Doctor stumbles about with his words.

"Blink twice!" Amy suggests.

I do as they request, and grimace. Everything hurts. My head, my shoulder, and my chest especially. "Okay, you're losing quite a lot of blood. That is slightly concerning, and I have no idea what to do."

Rory pushes The Doctor out of the way. "Do you have a first aid kit anywhere? One for no, two for yes."

I blink twice. He sighs in relief. "Doctor. Go find the first aid kit. Check the bathroom and that closet. Amy, go find a towel or something to soak up the blood." the two take off down the short hall, and immediately Amy moves into my room.

"Okay. I need to do an inspection of your injuries." Rory tells me. "Can I take your shirt off, are you okay with that?"

I grimace, but nod. He pulls off the shredded shirt, which leaves me in a bra, much to my embarrassment, but he doesn't blink an eye and begins checking the jagged tears in my skin.

He grimaces at them. "I think you'll be okay once we sew you up, but it's very close to um... not." He tells me.

Amy returns with the towels, and begins mopping up a surprising amount of blood on the floor. I try to inspect my injuries, but Rory stops me. "You need to stay still. You look at it and you could go into shock." he turns to his wife. "Amy, talk to her."

"Heya, Ice Girl." _Ice girl? Really?_ "You were really brave today. Protectin' all those kids and stuff." I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "I know, this seems really stupid." _you got that right._

"I found it!" I heard the Doctor yell. He came running out of the bathroom with a very large red bag with a white cross on it. He scurried over and handed it to Rory, who opened it up and immediately tore open a pack of alcohol swabs.

"This is going to sting a bit." He warned quickly, before wiping up around the cuts.

'A bit' was an understatement. I let out a feral sounding noise due to my throat being damaged, and felt tears well up in my eyes. Amy kept talking to me, but at that point I wasn't listening. I screwed my eyes shut, tried to breathe through the pain, and counted through pi in my head, a calming technique I had made for myself after discovering that memorizing it past 50 digits was pretty much useless.

"Rory, what are you doing?" I heard The Doctor ask. "Are you sure you're doing it right?"

"Yes I'm sure!" The nurse snapped indignantly. "Aren't you supposed to be a doctor?"

"I am a Doctor. But all this... twenty-first century medicine is primitive. It's so..."

"Effective. Available. Right now." Rory pointed out. "Alison, I'm going to give you stitches now. I don't have any anesthetic, but you're losing blood and we can't wait."

I didn't open my eyes, and nodded. When he started, I really didn't think it was all that bad. Sure, it hurt. But it wasn't as bad as getting tossed around a house like a rag doll. However, I won't lie and say I wasn't relieved when it was all done and he had cut the string.

"Well, that was very tedious and dull work." The Doctor said, jumping to his feet after all was done and over with, and I was sitting up and really, properly alright. I couldn't speak, but at least I wasn't bleeding out, and I had located a small whiteboard and marker to write things down on to be able to communicate.

_'Oh, saving my hide is dull? Gee, thanks.' _I wrote out.

"Well it's not like I had a role! I had to just... sit there." he defended.

"you actually could have done something." Rory pointed out. "Or you could have done nothing and not criticize my work."

I sighed to myself. _'do you guys want some food?'_ I used a questioning expression.

"Oh, really? That would be very kind of you." Amy smiled.

_'I am Canadian, Amy. Kindness is in the nationality requirements.'_

She laughed. "True enough."

I stood up and moved to the fridge, pulling out the large box of fish Charlie had made. My shoulders slumped as I remembered. He was gone. Dead. Perhaps for longer than I knew. I frowned sadly as I tossed the fish onto a large plate and shoved that into the microwave. I preheated the oven to make fries, and then went to sit back down on the couch.

I didn't know why the trio had shown up when they did. But I sure was glad they had. Otherwise, I would probably be dead by now. _'so. Any idea what those things are, past that they're the Slitheen family and that they want revenge on the earth?'_

"Ah, yes. Actually, I was wondering how you knew that in the first place." The Doctor said, adjusting his bowtie.

_'asked one of them what it was and why it was here. It told me it wanted "revenge on the human race" or something like that.'_ I scribbled out.

"Yes, that makes sense." he nodded. "Well, they come from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius. They were probably trying to get to me, aimed for Britain, overshot by an entire ocean on the way down. Decided Halifax was better than nothing."

I hesitated. '_Why were they out to get you?'_

Amy and Rory shared a glance. "I stopped them last time." The Doctor told me.

_'Oh. How do you know they're from Raxacori- whatever it is?'_

"I've been there." he admitted.

I stared at him for a moment, figuring out how to go about the conversation. '_Are you an alien?'_

He nodded. "Yes. I am."

_'are Amy and Rory aliens too?'_

"No!" Amy said indignantly. "I'm Scottish. He's Rory."

_'Is Rory his own nationality?'_

"No. I'm British." Rory sighed.

Just then the microwave beeped. _'can mister bowtie alien eat fish?'_

"Yes. Ooh! Do you have custard? Fish and custard are great."

I pulled a can of custard out of the cupboard and tossed it to him. He caught it smoothly, and I felt a pang of jealousy. Why couldn't I catch things like that? Because I was clumsy, I answered myself. I pulled the fish out of the microwave just as the oven beeped to signal its readiness for fries. I answered the call, pouring a healthy amount onto a pan and pushing it inside, careful not to burn myself. I had been wounded enough as it was.

I carried the large container of fish over to the table and set it down, retrieved plates, and set those down too. Everyone came over to claim their fish pieces, and I took two fillets for myself, wishing I could pour vinegar on it. Stupid Slitheen, coming into my house, killing my roommate, pouring out my vinegar, and trying to murder me. I huffed. How I had managed to not go into shock, I had no clue.

"So, Alison. I know this is short notice, but uh..." The Doctor starts speaking again, opening his can of custard carefully.

"We were wondering if we could crash on your couch." Amy got straight to the (unexpected) point.

I blinked a few times in shock before grabbing my whiteboard once more. _'why, don't you have somewhere to stay, a hotel or something?'_

Rory sighed. "Yeah, see, the thing is..."

"We got locked out." The Doctor admits sheepishly.

I nod, knowing the feeling of locking yourself out. However, the fact that the TARDIS wouldn't just let them in was confusing and surprising. Perhaps there was something wrong with her, I thought to myself. I nod again, scribbling on the board. _'Okay, you guys can take Charlie and I's bed, and I'll sleep out here.' _I decide.

"Oh, actually, um, I don't need to sleep." The Doctor tells me, and I mentally slap course he doesn't need to sleep! They stated that in the show!

_'Okay, then I'll take my bed, and Amy and Rory can take Charlie's. That okie-dokie?'_

The couple nod. "Yep!"

"It's settled then. Thank you very much." The Doctor says.

_'well, you did save my life just now. It's the least I can do.' _the oven beeps and I move over to the stove, pulling on oven mitts before pulling the pan out. The smell of fries fills the air, and I scrape them into the bin where the fish used to be.

_'Help yourself.'_ I write, before grabbing some myself.

Everyone begins eating, and I begin hitting myself mentally. _What have I gotten myself into?_


	13. A Walk in the Park (Ch12)

**AN: Hey all! finally posted the next chapter. now, the last one was extra shitty, so rest assured to any scrunching their noses and screaming at their screens as if I can hear them that there were horrible flaws, I will, at some point, be editing this and that whole chapter will be getting a full-scale makeover. as for now, well, it's simply following the whole inaccuracies, and it's mostly just chilling with a Time Lord. for anyone who minds, not to fear. I know you hate me when I do this. I hate myself for doing it too. I'm sorry.  
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**this whole chapter is an excuse to very basically describe the gist of my favourite town in Atlantic Canada. We'll return to your regularly scheduled programming whenever the hell I feel like it.**

**And for the 20 lovely people who are following this, thank you. I love you all. please keep reviewing, I need to know when I do good and when I fuck up. **

**With love and a Doctor Who fanfic, -ARTT.**

I stared at my ceiling in the darkness. My chest hurt, of course it did, but not as much as I would have expected. The stitches were a strange feeling, but I really didn't mind. My blanket was a welcome comfort, but not being able to curl up like I normally did was a problem, preventing me from falling asleep easily.

I could hear snoring from Charlie's room- Rory should really get himself checked out. My hands were folded on my chest, eyes closed, breathing shallowly to avoid stretching the string through my skin. I could faintly hear the TV on in the living room- the sounds of a video game playing quietly. The Doctor had found my Xbox.

The moon shone through the tiny crack in my curtain, sending a sliver of slightly gold colour; it was one of the yellow moons, one of my favourite times of night was when the moon turned to that honeyish colour.

I decided I wouldn't be falling asleep quite yet, and blaming the mountain dew in my head, I carefully slid out of bed and down to the floor. Treading silently across the cold hardwood floor in my bare feet, I lifted my coat off the door and cautiously and slowly pulled it over my arms and shoulders. Not bothering to button it up, I wrapped a blue and silver scarf around my neck and pulled on some black gloves. I didn't bother trying to get socks; that would make too much noise from my sticky dresser drawer, and it would wake Amy and Rory up.

I crept silently out my door, turning the knob slowly and hoping the hinges didn't squeak. It was my lucky night, and it swung open silently. I grabbed the bottom of my coat, holding it steady as I moved silently down the short hallway.

The Doctor was on the couch, playing Peggle. I slipped past him, hoping he wouldn't see me. Luckily, his eyes seemed to be glued to the screen. I scooted over to the door, and carefully sat down, grabbing my soft winter boots and pulling them over my feet. I use the small railing attached to the wall to pull myself up, and place a hand on the door handle.

"Where you off to?" I hear a voice from behind me. I jump, whirling around. The Doctor is leaning on the small counter in front of the doorway. His tone was light, but I could see the seriousness in his expression.

I clear my throat. "Out." I rasp, having slightly regained the ability to speak.

"Where?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Walking."

"That's not a very descriptive answer."

"Good for it." My voice sounded strange, and it ached slightly to talk.

"If you're going for a walk, can I join you?"

I sighed. "No."

"Well, you can't very well go out alone." Okay, now he was just being difficult. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm an adult." I told him simply.

"And you have three stitches in your abdomen from an attack by an alien." He nodded. "Now, I think I want to go on a walk."

I sighed in reluctance. "Fine."

The alien grinned in excitement. "Brilliant! Let's go!"

I realized with horror he had been wearing his shoes inside. "Why are you already wearing your shoes?" I hissed.

He looked confused. "Doesn't everyone do that?"

"No! You'll track alien shit in my house!" Who knows. Could be literal.

"Well sorry." He was frustrated now. "Let's go then."

I turned the lock and pulled the door open, stepping out into the brisk air. The moon illuminated the street quite well, and I felt the familiar shoulder bend as I moved into the cold- similar to a cat fluffing out its fur, I always instinctually hunched my shoulders for about two seconds after stepping out into cold.

"Well there's quite a range in temperature isn't there?" The Doctor remarked. "Extreme heat in the day, extreme cold in the night."

"It's not that cold!" I retorted, before realizing that he was in a tweed jacket while I was in wool, with a scarf.

"Easy for you to say." Was all he shot back as we headed down the street towards the first major landmark of the city, the public gardens.

We walked down the street and past the veterans hospital, which was ironically across the street from a graveyard, which was surrounded by a black iron fence and dead-looking trees. Turning a corner, the gardens came into view, surrounded by the same type of fence, but this one looked slightly more welcoming. Even in the dark, the flowers and trees stood out, and a floral aroma drifted through the air.

"Stop number one on our tour of Halifax." I rasped. "The public gardens." I crossed the street and pushed the gate open, waving him in.

The moon cast enough light that the silhouette of the trees was slightly visible, and you could see tints of colour in the darkness. We walked along the gravel path together in the darkness, each step making a quiet crunch. At the end of the path was a pond, the few ducks that weren't asleep in the reeds were drifting lazily on the surface of the water, dragging V-shaped tracks along behind them.

"A duck pond." He mused quietly. "Hm."

"Well, it's more than the pond." I told him. We walked around the edge towards a large green field, where a gazebo was standing. The local saxophonist went out most nights to practice, and there he was, dressed in a purple suit and playing his instrument quietly. The ice cream shop nearby was closed for the night, but the strings of lights along the plaza were lit up, making the whole area look like a soft glow was coming from it.

The Doctor looked around, smiling slightly. "It is the simple things, isn't it?"

"Not done yet, space boy." I said jokingly. We walked out the front gate, passing the swan pen before coming out on the commercial street of Spring Garden road. Most of the shops were closed, but the street was still lit up and a cafe and two bars were still displaying their bright blue 'open' signs.

I pulled the Time Lord into the cafe without a word, ordering two hot chocolates and praying the teenager at the cash wouldn't question the hoarse voice. To my delight, she simply handed me the chocolates and my change without a word, looking bored.

I gave one of the steaming beverages to my companion and we set off again, quietly walking along the street. Cars drove past occasionally, making a '_swoosh_' sound. Reaching the end of the street, we turned left and then headed down a hill towards the harbor.

"So Alison." The Doctor began making conversation. "Why here?" After I shot him a questioning look, he explained. "Why choose to live here, what's the big deal about this place?"

"It's not a big deal." The salty air seemed to soothe my throat, and my voice sounded more like mine. "That's why I like it. Quiet town, but still everything you could need. You've got the parks in walking distance, the woods, and the beach. People are friendly and the schools and hospitals are good."

"So you would rather live a quiet life with no adventure?" He seemed disbelieving.

"No!" I said, shaking my head. "But I could never find adventure anyway, so I stayed here, where I grew up."

"You found adventure today." He pointed out.

"And look how well that turned out." I said sarcastically. "I don't think I'm cut out for this kind of thing."

"Mm." He got quiet for a moment as we reached the wooden ground of the waterfront. There was an empty playground, a large statue of a blue wave, and a museum, which had anchors and rotor blades out in a set of sandboxes.

I took a sip of chocolate and spit it out quickly as it burned my tongue. "Ow! Shit!"

"You alright?" He laughed as I stuck my tongue out and set my cold fingers on it.

"Om yea, 'm peachy." I growled, speech muddled by the fact my tongue was out.

He grinned and took a sip of his hot chocolate. Apparently Time Lords were immune to the burning of tongues, because he simply grinned and said, "it's good hot chocolate though."

"Ha ha." I scowled at him, pulling my tongue back in.

We continued on, walking past a souvenir shop, with a bowl of water for the many dogs that would be taken on walks. Passing a series of boats and things, we reached a block of food stalls.

"Beavertails? Who would eat a beaver's tail?" He asked, disgusted.

I laughed. "They're not real beaver tails, idiot. They're pastries."

"Oh." He muttered, sipping his steaming beverage. Mine was finally cool enough to drink, so I followed his lead and took a sip.

It was pretty good, I would admit. Wasn't as good as the stuff I could make, but still not bad. We continued on past the ferry station and through the little market that they had set up.

"So, I'm guessing your name isn't John Smith hm?" I say. "I heard Amy and Rory call you 'Doctor'?"

"That's me." He nodded.

"Just The Doctor?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

He seems surprised. "Normally people ask me 'Doctor Who?'."

I shake my head. "I'm not people."

"True enough..." He trails off. "What's that island, way down there?"

I peer down his arm to see where he's pointing. "Oh, that's McNabb's island. There's a bunch of fortresses and cannons and stuff over there. I used to go hiking there."

"Interesting." He hummed, and we moved off once again. we passed the Cows ice cream shop, and stopped at the entrance to the casino, before turning and heading back towards the city centre again.

We came to the edge of the biggest hill in the city; Citadel Hill. sitting against the side of it was a large white clock tower, standing out against the darkness of night. the green domed top was illuminated, and the blue clock was painted with roman numerals.

"Ah, a clock tower!" The Doctor smiled up at the large Georgian style construct. "Very nice."

"Symbol of the city." I nodded. "Well known throughout the province."

we headed up the hill, and I tried not to succumb to the urge to roll down like a little kid- I would tear my stitches. oh, the tragedy of having been attacked by a raxacoricofallapatorian. Looking down on the city, the two of us stood in the cold. I rubbed my hands together, and then placed them on The Doctor's neck. he had two hearts, he would be producing more heat than a normal human.

sure enough, his neck was like a heater, and he jumped away, shrieking. "_Alison!_" He yelled, clasping a hand to his neck indignantly. "That's cold!"

"Sure is." I agreed, shoving my hands into my pockets. "And your neck is not."

"Doesn't mean I'm automatically a heat source!"

"Yes it does." I argued. "I am wounded, Doctor. I require your heat. warm my hands."

"No!" He screeched, and fled down the hill.

I made a split second decision before sprinting down after him. I was on a pretty much thirty-degree slope, and staying upright was a challenge I graciously accepted. At full speed ahead, I sprinted down the hill, except the Time Lord had slowed, and I whizzed past him, barely skidding to a stop before reaching the fence about ten metres away from the bottom.

"Haha!" He shouted. "Take that, you cold-handed fiend!"

"You're a little shit." I muttered under my breath, turning and simply walked away, back in the direction of my apartment once more.

"Where are you going?" he yelled, still standing up on the hill. I waved at him, not turning around. "Alison!"

Down the street I went, noting with satisfaction that my throat didn't hurt much at all. I began to sing quietly under my breath as I crossed through into the gardens once again. a duck crossed my path, waddling silently. a breeze blew across my face, and I felt a tickle in my nose.

"Boo." I heard The Doctor say from behind me.

I spun around just as I sneezed, and he took a step back cautiously. "Woah, watch where you're snozzing." he said, scrunching up his nose.

"Not my fault you startled me." I retorted.

He laughed, and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, handing it to me. "you've got a bit just…" he motioned to a spot under his own nose. I stared at the kerchief.

"Did you use this?" I asked.

"Why?"

"I'll take that as a yes." I tossed it back at him in disgust and yanked my hoodie sleeve out of my coat and wiped it on the inside of the cuff.

"That's gross."

"So's wiping my nose on your snotty rag." we began walking one more time.

He rolled his eyes. "You know, there are many societies where that's considered a great symbol of respect."

"Well, it's a good thing I'll never experience that hell, isn't it?"

"Hey, you never know." he shrugged.

I smiled dryly. "Well if that day ever comes I'll probably hide somewhere so as not to experience the horror of other people's snot."

We reached my street, and I sighed in relief. I was finally starting to feel the drooping in my eyelids. I blinked tiredly, and shuffled up to my apartment. I reached into my pocket and felt around for my key, before remembering that I had once again left it inside.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Well? you gonna open it?"

I sighed tiredly, leaning my forehead against the wall. "I locked the key inside."

He moved up to the door and yanked his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, aiming it at the handle. I heard a buzz, and then a click as the lock opened. He turned the knob, swinging the door in, satisfied. I gratefully stepped into the warmth of my apartment, and yanked off my coat. Dropping it on the nearest object, the table, I shuffled off to bed, climbing up and yanking the covers over myself before wrapping myself up in them like a caterpillar in a cocoon and allowing myself to fall into sleep. _Today was fucking weird._


	14. An Old Face and A Month (Ch13)

**Oh my gosh. ARTT is back.**

**Hello beautiful people! It's been a while! so, there's a bit of a time jump here, but lots of words to make up for it. might write a chapter in between. the change is a bit abrupt, but we're getting to backstories and a little of an old face *wink* who honestly I have a feeling I didn't do well at writing... I didn't do well at writing at all... oh well. anyway, next chapter will feature badassery, backstories galore, and a rescue mission. **

**See ya! -ARTT**

"Talk dirty to me." I heard the saxophone playing, quite loudly, from the path up ahead.

It had been a month since the TARDIS had taken off, bringing its inhabitants with it. I was alone again, and tasked with telling Charlie's parents he had disappeared. they had just gone, with hardly a word.

It was like they said on the show. The Doctor really did bring destruction in his wake. I sighed. He wasn't a bad person, he was so kind. But disaster followed him because that's what he did; averted the worst of what didn't have to happen.

I shook the thoughts out of my head. I had to stop thinking about it. It would drive me mad. I kept walking towards the music, where a group of teenagers were dancing about in some of the McNabb ruins. One pushed himself into a cannon, laughing wildly and sloshing beer over his arm. I rolled my eyes and walked past. The ruins were extensive, and a great place for capture the flag. I had come here once with Charlie's med school class...

There I went again. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I hooked a pair of headphones up and looped them around my neck, setting them to the highest volume. Had to be able to hear the world around me, because you never know. People had gone missing here months ago.

Climbing up a hill, I reached what had once been troop barracks. Climbing on top of them, I sat on top of the now-plugged up chimney, and stared up at the stars. The moon was slowly waning away, and it looked like someone had taken a scalpel and shaved off a chunk of it.

My hand found my ring and began twisting again. Round and round it went, a horrible habit that was the reason I couldn't leave the thing on all day. My headphones played instrumental music quietly, and I suddenly got the feeling someone was watching me. The familiar prickle on the back of my neck, everything. I put a hand on the little bottle of vinegar I always carried in my pocket, unplugging my phone and listening carefully.

Footsteps began to move through the grass somewhere behind me, and I tensed up, glancing over to the partying teens. All the kids I had seen earlier were there... So unless there was another one...

I put my feet down, slowly pulling the vinegar out of my pocket. Grabbing the largest rock I can spot on the ground, I spin around quickly, makeshift weapons raised.

"Why you sneaking up on me?!" I yell, rock raised. A squeak comes from the shadowy figure, who flinches. I then notice who it is. Amelia Pond. "Amy?"

"Hi Alison." She says quietly, slowly standing up again. "I uh... I need your help."

The TARDIS was dark. I used my phone as a flashlight as I stepped into the huge ship, careful not to trip on the grating on the floor.

"You're not freaking out about it... Y'know, being..."

"Bigger on the inside?" We chorus.

"Yeah." She says quietly.

"No." I said quietly, peering at the console. "So they just disappeared?" I ask, flipping a lever. Nothing.

"Yeah. The TARDIS came here before just... Going out." She pushes a bunch of buttons, and there's no response. I can feel a slight buzz in the floor, though that may just be my sore feet after walking so far into the island depths.

"Maybe there's a specific button you press to turn the lights on?" I suggest. We start pushing likely buttons, and nothing happens, until Amy presses a yellow one that sprayed mustard onto the floor, barely missing her.

"Why is there a MUSTARD button?!" She asked.

"No idea." I flipped a switch, and heard a hum. Lights around the console turned on, though the rest were off. "I'm guessing that's emergency power..." I muttered, more to myself than anything.

"But... Shouldn't the TARDIS just charge up?"

I shook my head. "Dunno." I DID know, but I wasn't about to try and explain why the rift was in Cardiff. "Is there a manual?"

"He threw it into a supernova." Amy shook her head.

I may have been a whovian, but I had no clue about how to fly a TARDIS. "Voice control program?"

A hologram appeared, and I screamed, falling backwards. It was Charlie.

"TARDIS voice control activated." He said, staring dully.

"That's your roommate. That's... That's Charlie." Amy said, staring at him.

"Oh my god." I muttered. "Uh, can you change?"

It switched to a little boy with smooth blond hair and abnormally large, bright blue eyes. My little brother, Daniel.

I sighed. "Are you ever going to give me a person I don't miss terribly?"

It changed once more into a woman with curly brown hair that was in a big pouf around her head, wide framed glasses, and blue eyes. She had a thick hoodie tied around her waist, a long sleeved blue shirt, and black yoga pants. A pair of orange and blue mismatched shoes were tied onto her feet, and fuzzy socks were poking out the top.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "uh, is that…"

"that's you." Amy confirms my fear.

"My hair really looks like that?" I cringe.

"Please state your current need." The other me has a dull voice, but it's definitely mine.

"uh, power?"

"We are in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. No power source within the immediate fifteen kilometres." She says.

"Well, of course not, we're on an island in the middle of the harbour. Is there power for a flight across the atlantic?"

"Negative."

"Can you be hooked up to an AC power source?" A cable drops down on the ceiling with the standard plug head on it. I was going to regret this, I just knew it. "Is there enough power to fly to my apartment?"

A lever slammed down and the TARDIS lurched. Amy shrieked, and I grabbed onto the railing before I fell over. My feet gripped the floor, and I gritted my teeth as everything shook wildly. when the shaking stopped, I grabbed the cord and ran out the door, searching for a plug.

behind the table! I ran over and shoved the plug into the socket, and the lights overhead flickered. I heard a hum from the blue box in my kitchen, and poked my head in.

The lights were on, the console was lit up, and I could hear a steady, strong hum. "It's on!" Amy grinned. "How'd you know it flew?"

"It's kind of obvious that it's a spaceship. The Doctor is an alien, after all." I turned to other me. "how long til we can go to Cardiff?"

"none."

I blinked. "what? none? none time?"

"Affirmative." she stared straight ahead, and I rolled my eyes.

"Do I need to get anything from here?"

"yes."

"What?"

"Bins."

I hesitated, thinking. 'what bins…?' wait. the bins under my bed. my Doctor Who stuff. there were fake sonics, sure, but there was also a book. a book on different aspects of the TARDIS, on different enemies of the doctor, maybe something in there could tell me how to help?

"Alison, why Cardi-" I ignore the redheaded scot and run out again, into my room, and hoist the box up, scurrying back into the ship. digging through, I pull the book out and flip it open.

moving over to the console, I put in the date and location using the typewriter-esque keyboard. Cardiff, Wales, August 12th, 2014. then I flipped on the 'Blue boringers', or stabilizers, and pulled a lever. the familiar wheezing noise started up, and I frowned. the book didn't mention what the handbrake looked like, so I couldn't turn it off. Amy moved over to my bin and peered into it, but I didn't have the time to tell her not to, as just then the console sent off a spray of sparks. I screeched like a bat out of hell and slammed a couple of levers in different directions.

"Voice control thingy?!" I yelled, wildly pushing buttons I hoped would help. "I don't know how to fly this thing!"

lights started to shine in different parts of the console, and I followed them, pressing buttons and flipping levers as they lit up. I eventually just tossed the book to the side as sparks went up again, and the stabilisers suddenly let up, the whole TARDIS starting to shake, as if it weren't stressful enough.

"Aliso- woah!" Amy slipped and slammed into the railing, and I cringed, not halting my button pushing spree. a bell rang and I looked at the monitor, but the gallifreyan was long-winded and I didn't have the time to read it.

"Make the screen english, please!" I yelled, dragging it with me as I jiggled a zig-zag plotter.

It immediately switched, and I squinted at the words. I accidentally elbowed a button, and suddenly speakers started blaring music. I grimaced, and continued running around the console, one hand on the rail on the edge so I wouldn't go flying.

"What's happening? it's never been this rough before!" Amy yelled, clutching the rail.

"The least vital functions are being ditched! we won't make it over the ocean otherwise!" I gave a couple twists on the little thing I recognized as an atom accelerator. "Also, why The White Stripes?! of all the things!" I shouted, lifting a foot up to hit a knob on one side, while pressing a button on the other.

"Rory is a fan!" Amy replied.

"How do you change it?"

"I don't know!" a shower of sparks came down again., and I tried to dodge. setting my hair on fire would be the opposite of helpful right now. instead, my shirt caught on fire and I had to yank it off, tossing it away from me and leaving me in a tank top.

"Why the hell am I the one who has to do this?!" I screamed, as a small fire broke out on the console from my flaming shirt. "Where's the fucking fire extinguisher?!"

"Here!" Amy hefts a blue canister, and sprays the flames.

"Are we close to the destination?!"

She stumbled to the screen. "I don't know! All it says is 'Heat vent'!"

"Okay, it's about to get hot-"

The TARDIS lurched. "Have we landed?" Amy asked, looking around at the sudden silence.

"Uh…" I checked the screen. "Yeah. 'cept we're off by a year or two… or six. Cardiff, July, two thousand and eight." I let out a shaky breath. sweat dripped down my face from the heat suddenly vented into the console room. "We should probably get out for a bit, all the heat in the whole TARDIS is venting in and it's gonna get really hot."

Amy nodded and scurried out. I kicked my bin of things down the stairs and into the hallway before following her. that should keep my stuff from melting. Stepping out of the blue box, I collapsed onto Amy, making a loud sound quite similar to a moo.

"Woah, Ali. you're all sweaty. get off me, you." She pushed me away, and I wiped my forehead with my hand.

Sure enough, it came away wet. "Gross." I mumbled, Shaking my head. "Let's go find somewhere to rest until the old girl charges up."

"You're talking like him." She told me. "The Doctor, I mean. you sound like him."

I blinked. "Oh." was that a compliment? an insult? just saying I was a huge damn nerd? I didn't know.

but what I did know was that I wanted to walk away from the growing problem of a time machine behind us. I sighed. "Let's go find a place to get… um, chips?"

"Yes!" She smiled. "Using the right terms!" We started walking off.

"No, you guys just say it wrong." I shook my head. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know." She smiled. "Where are we going?"

"I asked you cause I don't have a fucking clue. I've never been to Wales." I sighed.

We stopped in the middle of the square. "So…" Amy trails off, looking around.

"I don't think my phone'll work on google maps over here."

"Yeah…" She muttered.

I heard a growling noise, and turned to look at Amy. "Did you hear that?"

I nod. "Yeah, sounded like it was coming from down this way." I pointed towards where I was quite certain I heard the strange growling coming from. We sprinted across the stone ground of the Roald Dahl Plass. As we ran, Amy made conversation.

"So… you had a sonic screwdriver in that bin. and a fez."

I nodded, slightly breathless already. "Yeah. I'll explain later." I made a quick detour to a restaurant to grab a fork and steak knife, unsure of what the growling was. it was always good to be prepared, even if it was just a set of eating utensils.

the growling got louder as we ran, and we followed the sound until we reached a rather dark parking garage. in the corner there was a creature with a flat head, standing about as tall as me, and half hidden in shadows. I didn't know much about what lived in Cardiff's shadows, I hadn't watched Torchwood, but from what I had heard from people who did, the most common pest were weevils. this was probably one of them. beyond that, I didn't know much.

"well. it appears we've encountered a slight problem."

"Which is…?" Amy seemed nervous.

"I've no idea how to beat this thing." I said, wide eyed. we backed up, moving to head out of the garage, but a blur of grey shot past us. A person in a grey coat ran right up to the creature, and I heard a gargled shriek-growl and a thud as it slammed into the ground. I watched in fascination as the figure, who's features were shadowed but I was almost certain of who it was, sprayed something into its face, before throwing it into the wall. the weevil didn't get up again.

"What is that?" Amy hissed to me. I shrugged. I could only guess, but the guy who beat it could tell us.

"It's a weevil." Hey look, I was right. A: it was a weevil. B: it was Jack Harkness. "Nasty little things."

"Mm, I guessed as much." Amy nodded, staring at the crumpled figure.

"Cap'n Jack Harkness. Pleasure." He said, walking over to offer a handshake.

"She's married." I call, crossing my arms. He raises his eyebrows at me.

"American?" He questions, and I shake my head.

"Canadian. Subtle difference in politeness and amount we say 'eh'." I tell him.

"Oh, you come from up north." He shoots me a grin. "I hear it's nice up there."

"It is. Now, onto the more important question here..." I trail off. "Where can we get some fries around here?"

He breaks into an even wider grin. "French fries. Been a while since I heard that term."

Amy rolls her eyes. "Can we please get out of this parking garage before you two start on with the North American-ness?"

I smile a bit. "Good idea. I imagine we've got some time yet though, at least an hour til we can get in, at a guess."

"Car troubles?" Jack asks as we head back outside. He's just left the weevil, but I don't question it.

"Something like that." I shoot a wink at Amy, who smiles. "We're hooked up to a power source, it'll just take a while to charge. Big vehicle."

"Hm." He nods. "So what are two lovely ladies such as yourselves doing out alone on the streets of Cardiff?"

"Unexpected detour." Any sighs.

"Well, let's go find a good place for fries, then." He decides, and I'm suspicious. He's being quite quick to stick around us. As we walked, I shot a quick glance at the TARDIS. a slight puff of smoke was drifting away from it, and I hoped I hadn't fucked it up to the point of everything being ruined.

We ended up in a restaurant that I was pretty sure The Doctor had taken Blon Fel-Fotch, and sat down at a table. Amy offered to pay, as I had no British currency. I was pretty sure that was what they used in Wales… it was the same in the whole UK right? I think it was something starting with a 'P'.

"So. Jack Harkness. You don't seem to be a usual guy." Amy started, smirking slightly.

He chuckled slightly. "nor do you, chasing after a growling noise."

"Do you chase after growling noises often, Mister Harkness?" I ask lightly.

"Depends, what type of growling are we talking about here?" he winked, and I scrunched my face up to keep from smiling. very serious matter. very serious allie.

A rather loud alarm rang through the street, and I looked over at Amy. I had a sinking feeling the TARDIS was in a predicament. we both bolted out of the restaurant, and I soon heard footsteps that I figured meant Jack was following us.

We reached the blue box and I yanked on the door. "Dammit!" it's locked!" I turned to Amy. "Key?"

"He never gave me one!"

I huffed. "Wow, okay. that's lame, um…" I thought about it, then remembered the spare key. "Oh!" I exclaimed, reaching up above the sign that said 'police public call box', and pulled out a small key, which I inserted into the lock and pushed open the doors.

the alarm was echoing through the ship, and I grimaced, plugging my ears as I stumbled into the super hot room. steam was rising from the console, and I pulled my hands away from my ears to wrap them in my sweater and pull the screen towards me. "No, no, no!" I shouted. "Engine failure, no! you've got a power source you stupid thing, stop this!"

sparks flew overhead as Amy ran up beside me. "Anything we can do?"

"I don't know! I'm not a TARDIS engineer!"

Jack ran up and stepped inside. "I should have known."

"Save it, flirty boy. we've got a problem." I snapped, gingerly scrolling through the info on the screen using a dial on the edge. "Critical engine failure, heating systems have gone into overdrive, she's going crazy!"

"Well, how can we fix it?" Amy yelled over the alarm.

"TARDIS!" I yelled. "How do we fix it?!"

"Cr-crit-i-i-ical system fail-fail-ailure." the image didn't even take shape.

"Ugh!" I was starting to freak out now. I didn't understand.

"You need to vent the coolant to the primary heating systems!" Jack shouted, running up and tossing his coat to the side.

"I would do that, but I have no clue how!"

"You're impossible!" He ran down the stairs, looking up at the engines. "I can fix it but I need tools!"

"TARDIS!" I yelled, and my voice mumbled something, though I couldn't hear what it said

Lights lit up down the hallway, and I sprinted down it, trying hard not to pass out from the heat. blinking rapidly and breathing hard, I stopped at a door when the lights stopped, and went inside.

it was like a mechanic's dream. the walls were lined with different tools and things. looking around, I stared at all of the things everywhere, and grabbed a tool belt, which was pre-filled with things. "Hope this is the right stuff." I muttered, and began running again.

when I reached the console room, Jack was underneath the whole thing, and I threw the tool belt at him. he caught it easily, and I felt a pang of jealousy again. why is everyone so good at catching shit?!

"That the right stuff?!" I yelled.

"Yeah. now turn off that alarm!" He said, pulling out a wrench and beginning to loosen bolts.

I ran up to the console, and jabbed a button with my sweater-covered hand. the screeching sound stopped, and I breathed a sigh of relief. 'first try.' I mentally fist pumped, and ran down the stairs. "Where's Amy?"

"Cooling down outside." He says, reaching up to unscrew something. "So tell me, why didn't you say who you were at first?"

To say I was confused would be an understatement. "Who I was…?"

"Oh come on. Sure, you changed your face, but travelling in a TARDIS with a pretty girl? it's your classic thing, Doc."

I choked on my own spit a little. "Y-you think I'm The Doctor?" I laughed. "No, no. definitely not, mister. I wish I was a Time Lord."

"Oh really?" He seems skeptical. "How'd you get here?"

"the TARDIS showed me how to fly her. I'm not really that good, though." I laughed dryly. "Well, that much is obvious."

"Mmm." He continued working, and I inspected his coat, still on the floor. It was a nice coat, but mine was nicer… Oh. it was still at home. Oops. I shrugged to myself. Surely the TARDIS would have coats available.

"Alright. I got it. should be good now-" The heat was suddenly gone. it was actually rather cool now. I felt a pressure in my lungs I hadn't noticed before start to dissipate, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Beautiful, thanks Jack-" I was cut of by an arm looping around my neck, and I squeaked. what was with these adventures and attacking my neck?

"How did you steal this TARDIS?" he asked me quietly, but I could hear the dangerous edge in his voice.

"I haven't fucking stolen anything, now get off me-" I elbowed him in the gut, and he jerked back in surprise. I spun around and snapped my heel out, hitting him square in the chest. he flew backwards, and I turned and went in the opposite direction. Amy would explain. Amy was good. I would go to Amy.

"Aaaaamy!" I yelled, slamming the doors of the TARDIS open. "The immortal dude is trying to kill me!"

The redheaded girl turned from staring out at the building in front of us, wide eyed. "Say what now?"

Jack burst out of the TARDIS, and I ducked behind The Doctor's companion fearfully. "I'll ask you one more time." He said angrily. "How did you steal The Doctor's TARDIS?"

"We didn't steal the damn TARDIS!" Amy snapped. "The Doctor disappeared and I crashed in Canada. She was there, so she figured out how to fly her with a bit of help from the voice control thingy. No thieves here."

Jack seemed skeptical. "How did The Doctor disappear?"

"In a flash of light, I don't know! I was too busy falling over myself!"

I watched him over Amy's shoulder. "If it helps any, I'm slightly psychic and know more than you about The Doctor." That was a great excuse, wasn't it?

The two of them stared at me, surprised. "What?"

"Jack Harkness. former Time Agent. Immortal now, am I right?"

"Anyone could know that." He challenged. I stared at him, thinking hard. How to prove it to him?

"Are you my mummy?" I asked him. "Whatever you've got we're not selling. Ladies, your viewing figures just went up." I quoted. "Mm, the Face of Boe?"

He looked like he had been punched. "How?"

"It's a little more complicated than being psychic, actually. It's more like... Uh..."

"You had all that stuff in that bin." Amy remembered.

"Yeah. I watch-uh, watched this show on the TV, and it's called Doctor Who." I explained. "It's kind of disappeared, and it doesn't cover everything, and I've got a bit of future knowledge, and a pretty neat book that's got a bunch of info on everything."

"Incredible." Jack breathed. "So you're just as weird as me."

I shrug. "If you want to put it that way."

"Well, us weirdos gotta stick together, right?" He winked.

"Do you only have a fight and flirt mode? That's what it's seeming like to me." Amy snapped. "What I want to know, is where The Doctor and Rory are."

"Rory?" Jack quirks an eyebrow.

"Her husband." I told him, slapping his face with my sweater. "You've been flirting with a married woman!"

"Well, I didn't know that!"

"She told you already!" Amy retorts.

"Okay, can we stay on topic here?" I growled. "The Doctor and Rory. I'm thinking transmat. It would have to be really powerful, like on satellite five... er, the game station."

"Right. So, Daleks?"

"Or something similarly advanced. The question I have is, why not Amy?"

"To leave a witness?" The redheaded scot suggested.

"I dunno, but I think the TARDIS can track the source of the beam." Jack offered.

"Then let's find out what took our beloved Time Lord and Centurion." I said, pushing the TARDIS open again.


	15. Pool Party and Pasts (Ch14)

**Wow ARTT is back again! sorry this chapter is so late, I got slammed with three things due at pretty much the same time, and I'm not done any of them, so...**

**yeah. bad ARTT. but whatever. thanks for the reviews, follows, favourites, reads in general. now I'm going to go and do more writing. slurp up your story and relish it, you little beauties. I'm looking forward to next chapter. -ARTT**

We were all in the TARDIS, waiting for it to finish charging before we could track the transmat signal to the source. Jack was sitting on the edge of the console, I was perched atop the bars of the railings across from Amy, and was just messing about with my plastic sonic screwdriver. it was a pretty comfortable silence, but as always, things like that didn't last.

"So… I was gonna ask you." Amy started, leaning back on the railing behind her. "Who was that little kid? the one the voice control thing was?"

I sighed. "That was my little brother." memories of a little boy running through a grass field flashed through my mind, memories of summer days with cut cheeks from too many freezies, and memories of snowball fights and hot cocoa. "His name was Daniel."

"What happened to him? I mean, if you don't mind me asking?"

I sighed. "He was an autistic kid, but he was so smart. He never knew how to deal with people, but animals, and building? He was brilliant. He loved the summer months the most, 'cause he didn't have to wear socks if he didn't want to." I smiled bitterly to myself. "He hated the feeling of stuff touching his toes. He liked to run around in the yard with his bare feet, and loved to swim in the lake by our house. used to get leeches all the time."

"That sounds really nice."

"He drowned in that lake when he was twelve. I was eighteen and had just gotten there as he went down under. by the time I found him and dragged him out it was too late." my voice cracked on the last word, but all my sorrow and tears had been long dried up and buried. it just felt… empty.

"Oh…" She muttered quietly. awkward.

"But I'm over it by now. It's been years. I don't know why the stupid TARDIS brought it up. very rude." I tried to lighten the mood.

Jack was quiet still, simply observing. I flipped the fake sonic around and stuffed it in my pant pocket, standing up. "Well, I'm still hungry. does the TARDIS have a kitchen?"

"It does indeed!" Amy jumps up. "Jack, you coming?"

He was still staring in one direction blankly. Spaced out, I thought to myself. "Hell-o? Ground control to Cap'n Jack?" I waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hm!" he seems startled. "Oh. what were you saying?"

"Asking if you wanted to come and get some food with us. The TARDIS has a great kitchen."

"Oh, sure!" He jumps up, and we head down the hallway. I feel suddenly exhausted, like I've been awake for a week.

"I hope there's mountain dew." I mutter to myself.

"So really, all you need to do is think about it, and it'll be in the cupboards." Amy explains, showing us the magical kitchen.

"So basically one day the Doctor went on a huge shopping spree, and so now it's a telepathic cupboard?" Jack summarized her explanation. "I'm concerned for that man's health."

"And sanity." I added, opening the cupboard to see assorted flavours of my favourite sweet beverage. "Ooh! there is mountain dew!"

"Do you have an obsession with that stuff?" Amy asked, rolling her eyes.

"Basically." I nodded. "Not big on tea or coffee, so I drink Mountain Dew for my caffeine."

"Ooookay." Jack decided not to say anything. "Well, I'd like some..."

He didn't even need to say it. The Mountain Dew disappeared, leaving a rack of martini glasses full of a foreign blue liquid. He pulled one out and took a sip, nodding in appreciation. "Nice."

Amy pulled out some crackers and Parmesan cheese. She tossed the two in what looked like a bright purple turd with a door, which was apparently the microwave.

I cracked open the blue bottle and took a sip. I smiled happily, and then sat down on one of the four chairs at the small table. "Four chairs and three people?" I questioned.

Amy looked at it strangely. "I never noticed there was an extra chair." She shrugged. "Maybe the TARDIS wanted to be symmetrical?"

"That's weird." Jack muttered, plopping down. "Either way, good drinks. TARDIS is a great bartender."

Amy nodded in agreement. "Makes a mean.. Well, everything really."

I pondered the strange time machine. Food, clothes, bedrooms, the place was literally endless. Infinite. I doubted I would ever really comprehend it.

"So. This show of yours." Amy pulled her crackers and cheese out as the purple turd thing squealed. "Do you know the future?"

"Some of it." I admitted. "I don't know where we are in the timeline though, and I don't know what happens in between episodes."

"Oh. So it really is like your psychic, like..." She thinks for a second.

"Like you only see bits and pieces." Jack finishes. "Just big events."

I shrugged. "I don't know what happened on Raxacoricofallapatorius. Or whatever happened to you after the unfortunate events on the game station."

Jack frowns. "Well I'm immortal."

"I know that. Fixed in time. You're always there." I smiled dryly. "Must suck."

"Just a little." He admitted, cringing.

"So, you can't die? At all?" Amy asks, surprised. "Even if I blew you up with a bomb?"

"Well, let's not try that. I don't really want to live my life as a walking pile of stitches... Or goo on the ground..."

"Yeah." She cringed, before turning to me. "So... D'you know anything cool about me?"

"Besides stuff that would embarrass you?" I grinned, thinking of the pile of 'raggedy doctor' dolls in her room. "Well, in your first adventure with The Doctor you saved a star whale." I offered. "Like I said, I don't know where on the timeline you are, so I can't spoil anything, but..." I considered it. "You've faced a whole cavern of weeping angels, including angel Bob, right?"

"Angel Bob?" Jack furrowed his eyebrows and looked very confused indeed. "Weeping angels don't have names."

"No, but Clerics of the church do." Amy laughed dryly. "They killed him and spoke through him. Sacred Bob."

"That's depressing." Jack muttered.

"Tell me about it." I muttered dully. "And counting down, and having an angel in your eye, and having to walk through the forest like you could see?"

"Yeah. That was crazy." Amy frowns.

"And so yeah." I murmur. "I know all that stuff."

"So how do you think you got here?" Jack asks me.

"honestly?" I sigh, resting my head on my hand. "no clue. was hoping The Doctor could help me with that one… until he disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Jack seemed confused.

"They stayed at my place overnight. when I woke up the next morning, the three of them were gone… and my xbox was left on." I muttered grumpily.

Amy was sheepish. "He said we shouldn't disturb your rest, so we left without a goodbye. how were we to know you needed our help?"

"How did you manage to forget the circular gallifreyan on the table? Honestly you guys made such a big deal of it and then you forget?"

"Okay, I don't know what you guys are going on about, so…" Jack rolled his eyes, sipping his hypervodka.

"You think we're done charging yet?" I asked, standing up. I wanted to do something, move about. it was an uncommon feeling for me, as I usually wanted to lounge about and scroll through tumblr, or play video games.

"Probably not." Jack shook his head. "Why, feeling antsy?"

"The TARDIS does that to you." Amy agreed. "we could go swimming." she suggested.

I was excited. "There's a pool!" I said it more as a fact I had forgotten than a question. which was the case.

"Yup." She popped the 'p'. "It's even got it's own room now. used to be-"

"In the library!" Jack laughed, and I was blinded by his incredibly white teeth.

"Well, let's go swimming then!" I grinned uncontrollably.

"To the wardrobe!" Amy called, and we fled out the door.

we ended up in a very tall room with a spiral staircase surrounded by circular levels of clothes. one side was distinctly male, where the other was female. As we made our way up, it was obvious that it was sorted into time period, and probably planet, as I could see sections that were definitely not earthen.

Amy and I stopped off at twenty-first century level, while Jack continued on up. I assumed he was going for fifty-first, as that was where he was originally from.

I wasn't much for fashion. that much was obvious from the fact I was pretty much always in hoodies, jeans, sweatpants, and ratty old t-shirts. Which is why (I assumed) Amy took it upon herself to pick a bathing suit out for me.

"What about this one?" She asked for about the twentieth time, holding up a red and black polka-dotted bikini on a hanger.

"No." I told her decisively. I hated things that were too revealing. that, and the fact there was a flirty fifty-first century man who would be swimming with us were the reasons I was against wearing such a thing.

"Okay, well…" She pulled out one with shorts and a halter-style top. the shorts were a teal colour, and the top had lines of the same colour running up the straps, though the rest was a dark grey.

I considered it. it was a very nice bathing suit, and it wasn't too revealing. Amy wouldn't be happy until she found me something 'stylish'. "Alright." I agreed.

She cheered. "Alright Allie!"

I rolled my eyes. "yeah yeah, just gimme the damn suit." I snatched it out of her hands, and she pointed me towards a changing stall type thing in the section between men's and women's wear. I pulled the suit on quickly, stepping out so my new friend could judge how I looked.

She was already changed into an orangey-red one bikini with a skirt-like bottom piece. it looked very good on her, and I felt jealous, both of her and her husband. she was very, very pretty.

Apparently she thought I was too. "Lookin' good!" She grinned, clapping her hands excitedly. "I thought you would be a little blob under that hoodie, but no!"

I decided not to point out that I had been in a tank top that was actually rather form-fitting, and instead accepted the compliment. "Thanks." I smiled at her. "Should we wait for Mister Harkness, or should we just go?"

"I think you should wait, seeing as I've got no idea where the pool even is now." the man's voice rang through the room as he came down the stairs.

I rolled my eyes. "Minor problem. you'd find your way eventually."

He was dressed in some pretty normal swim trunks, and a t-shirt that had a slogan I didn't bother to read. knowing him, it was probably something dirty. He whistled appreciatively, and made it plainly obvious that he was checking the two of us out. "Lookin' good, ladies."

Amy slapped him with a towel that she had produced from somewhere. "Married, mister."

"I can still look!"

"No you can't." I smirked. Amy tossed me a towel, and it hit me in the face. "Ow!" I growled, picking the cloth drying apparatus up off the floor. "What was that for?!"

Amy and Jack were laughing when I looked up. "You can't catch things for the life of you, can you?"

I shot the two a glare. "Shut up!"

Amy, still laughing, led us down the hall to the pool room,and held the door open for us as we took it all in.

It was impressive. high, arcing TARDIS blue ceiling, a lighter shade of blue floor tiles around the edge of the massive circular pool, the whole thing was a dome. on the actual floor were tables, much like a pool I had been to as a child, with lawn chairs and umbrellas even though there wasn't any sun. a series of lights were along the ceiling in a spiral, which shone down into the water to make it sparkle.

I set my towel down on a table, not tearing my eyes away. it definitely wasn't how I pictured it, but it was amazing. there was even a bin to one side, which I could see pool toys poking out of. I smirked at this; This Doctor was certainly very childish.

Amy was the first one in, running at full tilt before diving in headfirst. it was relatively deep, enough that she could go about thirty seconds down before pushing off to come back up. she broke the surface and grinned. "Coming?"

I jogged over and did a cannonball, drifting down a little before kicking my legs to come back up. the water was cool, but it was refreshing, not when you have to dive in or go in gingerly because it's cold.

We splashed around a bit before Jack came in as well, and with him he brought a pool noodle, two floating frogs, and a floating killer whale. "Well, it's a lot different than before." was his only comment, before diving to try and pull Amy underwater. I laughed as she kicked him in the chest, sending them apart.

I dove under the water, reveling in the feeling of my hair billowing out behind me. cautiously, I peeked an eye open. no burning sensation associated with chlorine. I felt a laugh bubble up in my chest, and I let it out via bubbles. there were so many things to worry about, so many things that were confusing and scary, but at the moment all I could feel was unrestrained happiness and excitement that made my chest feel like it would explode and spill guts like a Slitheen that had taken a dip in vinegar.

I reached back behind my head, and pulled the elastic away, letting my mane free. the water made it straight and smooth, and it looked darker, like smooth chocolate ribbon around my head.

It then occurred to me that there were other people in the pool, and I swam up, only to hit a rubber floating killer whale. I plowed through and took a breath of air. I looked around to see Amy doing a running jump towards me, a huge grin on her face.

I squeaked, diving under as her feet sailed over my head. I took the opportunity to whip around and grab her feet, dragging her under as soon as she was off guard.

her reaction was comical, flailing and blowing bubbles out. I released her as quickly as I had grabbed her, and we rose to the surface.

As I broke into the air, I cracked a huge grin. "Gotcha, Pond."

She shot me a good-natured fake scowl. "that was mean."

"I'm a Canadian. I'm incapable of being mean. you must be mistaken."

Just then, I was shoved under the water by another pair of hands. I surprised myself by not taking a gulp of water, and instead did some amazing water acrobatics, flipping backwards and smirking in satisfaction when I felt my leg connect with something soft but solid. Captain Jack Harkness fell backwards and drifted downwards slightly, giving me a dirty look. I smiled sweetly under the water, and did a small wave.

I flipped right side up and swam up again. acrobatic stunts and things were way easier in water than in air, and if I was going to be honest with myself, I would probably break something trying to do it normally, whether it be me or an object.

Amy laughed. "Someone's getting fancy."

I laughed. "Easier in water."

A sound quite similar to an oven dinging rang through the room. "The TARDIS is done charging." Jack told us. "Let's go."

We all climbed out and headed down the hallway and into the console room. I dried myself off before tying my hair up in a towel hat as we ran. the three of us ran down the hall, not bothering to change as we ran up the stairs to the six-sided console. I yanked the scanner towards myself and flicked my eyes over it.

"Okay, it was automatic or something, 'cause we've already got a lock." I twisted my ring on my finger, though the fact it was wet made it stick slightly. "Ever heard of Peran, in the Okioan Galaxy?" I was pretty certain that was how you pronounced it.

Jack's eyes flashed with recognition. "That would be why they didn't take Amy, then."

I was confused. "what would be?"

He sighed angrily. "It's a patriarchal society inhabited almost entirely by men. Unless they need someone for labor, women are exiled, fed to beasts. Was only there once, with his old, old face." He grinned dryly. "Rose was not impressed."

"So they snatched the men and left the woman. Classy." I frowned. "Well, shall we go and inform them as to why that's a bad plan?"

"I think that's a great idea, but maybe we should actually put some clothes on." Amy suggested lightly.

I slapped myself. Of course, clothes. those were definitely important. "Good plan, Amy. you're the only one with sense."

so we headed off to change again. Jack informed us that the planet's climate was pretty much the equivalent of fall, so I decided my general night and early morning apparel would be best. so I put on a pair of slightly skinny jeans, (not enough to restrict running, but not large enough to trip on.) a random t-shirt that was slightly too big for me, but was comfy as all hell, and a coat similar to mine, but dark blue. I put my hair up in a bun so it wouldn't drip onto my clothes or make me too cold, and tucked a grey-blue toque over my ears. my glasses had been on my face the whole time, because I would be blind in the pool without them, and that was unacceptable.

So from there I stepped out of the wardrobe and headed up to the console room. The other two inhabitants were still changing, so I took that time to prepare myself with what resources I had. the fake sonic screwdriver I had went in one of the bigger-on the inside pockets, which I liked quite a bit. I wouldn't need the manual to fly the TARDIS if the voice control program held up, so I stuck that in there too, along with my trusty cellphone. it wouldn't support any phoning things, but photos? definitely. I tended to be a photo junkie and if I got the chance to take photos, I would.

I found a few things in there already- a banana, a power bar, a mini slinkey, and a lighter. they were strange compared to what I normally carried, but in all honesty they could have been stranger.

I decided to take a couple snapshots of the console, just so I could remember it later. I didn't know why, but it seemed like a good idea.

I somehow managed to nudge the music button again, and this time it was the last thing I expected. the three-tone beep at the beginning of the song was all I needed to recoil in shock. "I'm your basic average girl, and I'm here to save the world, you can't stop me cause I'm-"

"_KIM POSSIBLE?!_" I screeched, eyes wide. "Why the hell?!"

I slammed the button and it turned off, and I could have sworn the hum from the TARDIS was a laugh. I scowled. "Seriously. not needed. good show, but not. needed."

"Do you have a thing against music?" Amy appeared from the hall, with a rather short skirt on. I decided not to question it. she wanted to flaunt it, she was allowed.

"When it's sudden and out of context, yes. kind of." I sighed. "So. what was it, Pearen? Peran? I dunno. Forty fifth century, distant galaxy, patriarchal society. this should be interesting."

Jack walked up the steps behind Amy. "tell me about it. how much you wanna bet they're all gay and are hitting on The Doctor?"

"Maybe two bucks. I don't really bet." I figured there'd be a different purpose to them kidnapping the Time Lord, but if they really were hitting on him, I'd gladly pay the equivalent of two packs of ramen.

"Done." He jumped up to lean on the console. "Let's go, then?"

I grinned. "Let's go." apparently the voice control system got the hint, because soon I was following the lights as they moved around the console.

more lights began to show up, and soon all three of us were piloting the time machine. I laughed excitedly as we spiraled through time and space. I was on a mission to save a Time Lord. for real. My life had certainly become less boring.

**AAAND ARTT doesn't know how to end a story! bam abrupt ending! love you!**


	16. A Rescue and A Lameness (Ch15)

**Here we are! I posted this earlier but it's been fixed up and given a little more action. we'll see a little backlash from what happened in this chapter in the next one, and some other stuff. ;;;;) see you in the next one! -ARTT**

When we touched down, I peered at the scanner. There was oxygen and such, that was good. We were in a forest, but the leaves were all shades of red, and the grass was a purple-brown colour. There were squirrel-like creatures flitting about, and their fur was blue, with a red-tipped tail that dragged on the ground. However, when they turned to stare at the strange blue box, they had six beetle-like eyes that glinted in the light.

We filed out of the TARDIS, and I raised a small device Jack had fashioned with random parts. It would track The Doctor's sonic screwdriver, so it would lead us pretty much right to him. I stared at the small screen and rotated on the spot until the little arrow turned green and pointed straight ahead. "Okay." I said to the other two. "It's this way."

Amy, dressed in a pair of knee-high boots, some yoga pants, a black coat, a black hat, and a cream knit scarf, stepped forward. "Well, let's go and find my husband."

Jack was dressed in his usual apparel. The long grey RAF coat, slacks, and a blinding white grin.

The three of us set off through the woods. Light filtered through the trees, making dancing speckles of light on the ground. The grass crunched under my mismatched converse high tops, and I shuddered as a strange smell wafted through on a cold wind.

"So ladies." Jack started, but his usual flirty tone was laced with seriousness. "You're going to have to be prepared here. They won't even regard you as people unless you force them to listen."

I realized with a jolt that this would be the worst mysogyny I will have ever seen, and chewed my cheek. "So," Jack continued, "keep your head up, walk with pride, speak with certainty. You have to ooze confidence. Don't let them say anything sexist. If you let them, they'll be less likely to listen at all."

I tried to absorb the words and commit them to memory. I glanced down at the 'Doctor Detector 2.0', and watched as the counter of distance slowly dropped.

And then I walked into a tree.

I hit the ground with a thud, and Amy and Jack laughed. I scowled, brushing leaves and bark chunks off my coat. "Wow, nice to know you guys care if I get hurt." I say sarcastically.

"Oh, come on. That's funny." Amy tried to hide her giggles, red hair gleaming in the sun.

"No it's not!" I try to be angry. I also fail.

"It kinda is." Jack throws in his two cents.

"Bullshit." I continue walking, huffing in frustration. A puff of steamy breath drifts away lazily, and I watch it go as I walk.

The two companions jog to catch up. "How far?" Amy asks me, and I'm grateful for the change of subject.

"About a kilometre-" I stop as we reach a break in the trees, and I see a city, with great metal spires stretching into the sky. There was a dirt road tracing through the land toward it, and a figure was kicking up dust as it zoomed across it.

"Wow." Amy muttered, apparently in awe.

"Let's go find the missing men." I said, starting across the field of purple grass that separated us from the city.

They quickly followed, and as I walked I tucked my hair all up into my hat, slid my jaw forward to mimic an underbite, and puffed out my cheeks slightly. I attempted to mimic Jack's masculine stride, and after a couple tries, figured out the gist.

"What are you doing?" Amy questioned me.

"I'm trying to look as manly as possible. Maybe they'll think I'm just a girly guy."

"That's..."

"Actually a good idea." Jack nodded, not looking away from out destination. "You don't want to get carted away in the streets."

Amy sighed, and tucked her hair into her own hat. She narrowed her eyes, puffed her cheeks out, and started lumbering slightly. After a moment she fell into a more natural step, and pulled her shoulders up.

We probably looked strange, but as we moved into the city, no one blinked an eye. I followed the DD2.0's arrow as we moved through the street, not daring to look up in case someone noticed I wasn't male.

Amy grabbed my arm tightly, and I looked to where she was staring.

The arrow was pointing to a large metal building that stretched up to the sky. A pair of angry looking officials stood in front of it, in strange looking uniforms.

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. "I got this." He told us.

We approached the building, and the ex-time agent lifted the wallet, flipping it open to reveal a blank sheet of paper. The guards pushed the door open, and we stepped in as it clicked in my mind. Psychic paper- I could see through it.

We walked down a small hallway and I peered down at the screen. It was pointing through the wall, we took the next right and-

Ran smack into a large, burly man with a pair of keys dangling from his belt. I glanced at his pocket to see a familiar hilt poking out the top- the man had confiscated the sonic. So much for finding The Doctor that way.

The man looked down at me through narrowed eyes. "Watch where yer goin'." He grunted.

Jack stepped forward. "Sorry, he's nearly blind. Jack Harkness, we're looking for a foreign prisoner, you should know him."

The man's eyes gleamed with understanding. "Ah, you want 'im. The higher-ups gonna give another shot at getting him ta... Coordinate?"

I swallowed the urge to laugh. I wasn't great at making my voice lower, so I would stay silent. Instead, Jack spoke. "Indeed. So, if you could lead the way, maybe hand over any confiscated items…"

the man pulled the sonic out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Here ya are, tha's all 'e 'ad on 'im."

I nod in appreciation. The man turns and waddles down the hall, and we follow. I share a look with Amy, and she gives what I assume to be her attempt at a reassuring smile, but to me it just looks like a grimace.

We stop at a large steel door with a wheel lock mechanism. I step forward and twist the wheel, looking down at it in the hopes the guy won't notice, though he seems to have poor eyesight.

I push the door open, and we step in. Against the wall, in handcuffs, is the Time Lord we've been looking for. "Oh, great. Another bout of people trying to get me to build you a spaceship, so you can spread your greed among the stars? I'll tell you again. it's. not. happening."

"I told ya so. 'e ain't doin' nothin' fer ya. good luck." the guard waddles away, and Amy peers out to watch him leave.

She watches for a few moments, and then leans back in. "We're clear."

I relax slightly and watch The Doctor as he stares determinedly at the floor, not having noticed who was in the room with him. "Well, I have to say, I was expecting a little more of a fight to be put up." I say, crossing my arms and putting on an unamused expression.

His eyes shoot up. "A woman, on Peran-" he processes the people standing in front of him. "Amy?"

I roll my eyes. "She isn't the only one who worked their ass off to get here, Doc'." Jack says. "Though I see you've changed since I saw you last."

"Jack!" The Time Lord is shocked. "Oh!"

"And Alison!" I cry in mock excitement. "Oh boy, it's Christmas!"

"Alison?" He peers at me strangely. "Alison! Yes, Hello! How'd you get here?"

"I rode a cow." I muttered sarcastically. "Come on, dick butt." I point the sonic at the cuffs, and they click open. He stands up, and I turn. "We still need to find Rory."

"Ah, yes. Rory, I know where Rory is!" he cried. He pushed past us, and ran down the hall. Amy ran after him, and I shared an unamused look with Jack. We followed, and I stuck the sonic next to my fake one in my pocket.

We reached a door where The Doctor had stopped, and was straining to pull it open. Amy shoved him out of the way and turned the wheel, pushing the door inwards with a clang. Rory was on his feet in a flash as his wife ran over to embrace him. I pulled the sonic out again and pointed it at the ex-Roman's cuffs before stuffing it back in my pocket. I was surprised its owner hadn't asked for it back, but pleasantly so.

"Well, as much as I'd love to hang out and catch up, we should probably get going before someone realizes we're not supposed to be here." Jack says, and Amy and Rory separate.

"Yeah, let's go." I nod, and we head out again.

We pass a man in the hall, who is slimmer than the other one, but otherwise looks quite alike. "Hey there, hot stuff." He calls as we pass, and winks at The Doctor.

He doesn't seem to notice, but Jack gives me a knowing look and I sigh. "Two bucks." He tells me, and I laugh.

"Yeah, yeah." I tell him. "When I get a chance, I've got about zero money on me right now."

He laughs, and nudges me in the ribcage. "I think I like you, Alison."

I roll my eyes. "You say that to all the ladies." And then I start to think about it. "And men. And others."

He laughs harder. "You got me."

We step out onto the street, and I drop my smile. There are a bunch of men standing around, and I try not to catch anyone's eye. We'd been okay so far, but who knows how long that would last?

As we walk through the city, gazes follow us. I glance at Jack nervously, and he nods. There's something wrong here.

As we walk out of the city, up ahead on the road we can see a squad of people moving towards us. they're carrying weapons, and I realize with clarity that we've been realized. I pick up a branch I spot on the ground, and brace it in the dirt. "We need to move a little bit faster, guys!"

everyone else looks up, and we start to move quicker. The group of men turn and begin to move after us. Then we begin to run. I lead the way towards the TARDIS, while Amy, who has taken control of my branch, brings up the rear. we jog along, and I can hear the shouts of the angry dude squad behind us.

through the trees, I spot the bright blue colour of the box, and pick up the pace. I bolt through the trees at top speed, and shove through the doors, starting to slam levers down and press buttons. Jack is the first in, and begins to man stabilization. Rory is next, and he simply watches, stuttering. Amy is next, but she stops at the door.

through the trees, I spot the bright blue colour of the box, and pick up the pace. I bolt through the trees at top speed, and shove through the doors, starting to slam levers down and press buttons. Jack is the first in, and begins to man stabilization. Amy is next in, despite being at the back, but she stops at the door.

"Doctor, come on! we need to go!" she shouts, and I hear a distant cry.

I whirl around. "What's going on?"

"They shot Rory!" She yells, and runs out.

I follow, and Jack isn't far behind. the squad of angry guys have their weapons up, and they appear to be futuristic tasers. Amy ducks behind a tree as they fire at us, but I just stand still; their aim is horrible, and the rounds whip past.

One of the men tries to pull Rory away, and two others grab The Doctor, holding his arms behind his back. The Time Lord struggles, but they hold him fast. Rory looks up from the ground, and his gaze locks with Amy's as she peeks around the tree.

The redheaded scot hefts the branch I gave her earlier, and runs towards the men. they're momentarily stunned, but as she swings the makeshift weapon at the man who shot her husband, they come to their senses and aim their tasers at her.

I run over and yank the first thing my hand comes into contact with out of my pocket. it's the metal slinkey, and I swing it at the group of guys. it stretches out and hits one in the face, catching him off guard and making him drop to the ground, clutching his unprotected face. the group turns and aims at me, and I drop to the ground as they fire.

A pair of gunshots ring out behind me, and two of them drop, clutching their knees where Jack had placed bullets. I grab the taser the first guy had dropped, and fired it into the uniform-covered chests of the guys in front of me. One swings his gun at Amy, and she blocks it with her branch as I string the slinkey around his neck and jerk it back. he topples to the ground.

The Doctor seems shocked at the sudden display of violence, but before he can say anything, I spot another man, who I guess was a soldier, same as his buddies. I aimed the taser, which was basically a non-lethal rifle, and fired off three bolts. he fell to the ground, clutching his stomach, where the bolts had hit.

Jack and Amy helped Rory up, while The Doctor looked around at the fallen men. I walked alongside the two companions and the ex-companion as we headed back to the TARDIS. I looked back to see The Doctor checking the men out, making sure they'd be okay or whatever. I looked forward and held the doors open for the three other people.

Rory regards Jack. "Who are you, again?"

"Cap'n Jack Harkness. Nice to meet you." Jack winks at him, Rory appears to be at a loss, but another voice cuts through.

"Oi!" the Doctor yells. "Stop flirting with my companions!" He starts walking over from the spot where the soldiers had tried to drag him away.

Jack and Amy set Rory down on the captain's chair, and The immortal man and I begin to start the TARDIS up again. Amy runs down, urging The Doctor to hurry as we start the dematerialization process. I sling the taser-rifle over my shoulder as I pull levers and such once again, picking up where we left off.

As The Doctor climbs on, the doors slam shut on their own and we're off into the time vortex, though it's a rather rough flight. Amy grabs hold of a railing to stop herself from going flying, but The Doctor doesn't and tumbles down the stairs.

I feel a pang of concern, but I can't stop or we'll get lost on our way to the 21st century. "Jack, my place or yours?" I yell.

"How about yours? Canada sounds nice!" I feel like that's a flirt, but don't bother to linger on it.

I search through previous coordinates until I find my house, gripping the console so I don't go for a little trip across the TARDIS. It's less rough than my first trip, and I've gotten the hang of some of the movements.

Amy staggers up the stairs. "Anything I can do?" immediately a light shines down on the console, and she jiggles the zig-zag plotter.

I flip a few levers, push a couple buttons, and spin the atom accelerator to guide us onto an unoccupied part of the apartment- Charlie's room is now empty. We begin to re-materialize, and I sigh. nothing else to worry about but what to make for dinner, now. I turn around, and lean back on the console, letting out a long breath. Rory staggered up off the seat and appeared to shake it off. Amy murmured something to him I couldn't hear, and he nodded.

loud, hurried footsteps move up the stairs, and The Doctor comes into view, hair ruffled, bowtie askew, and a shoe missing. "I-I-" he seems to be at a loss. "How?"

I smile innocently. "Your TARDIS is very helpful, Doctor."

"I-What?!"

"Either way, I'm home now, so…" I turn to Jack. "Were you joking or do you actually want to see Canada?"

Jack grinned. "I'd love to."

"No, no, no. Stop." The Doctor was having difficulty wrapping his head around the situation. "You… can fly the TARDIS?"

I nodded slowly, crossing my arms. "Yeeees… there's a voice control program."

"How did you know how to use it? How did Jack get here? how did YOU get here?!"

I rolled my eyes. "Long story, too boring. get Amy to tell you." I walked past him and pushed open the doors. The room was empty, but when I walked out into the kitchen, it was exactly how I left it. there were stacks of papers on the table, a glass of mountain dew with ice still in it, and my laptop was still open to Tumblr.

Jack, Amy, and Rory walked in and looked around. "You don't live in an igloo." Jack stated, smirking.

"You're right, I don't. funny how those stereotypes work, hm?" I walked over to the door. "So. Canada."

"Nice." he said simply, and I pulled open the door. three people went through it, and I smiled. it had been an interesting day, but now it was time to head downtown for some food with people I guessed I could now call friends.


End file.
